Steel sector facing global headwinds: RBI
Cheap imports, dumping from major global steel producers during Fy24-FY25 eroding competitiveness of domestic steel production
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Mumbai: India’s steel sector faced significant headwinds due to cheap imports and dumping from major global steel producers during 2023-24 and 2024-25, RBI’s latest Bulletin said, as it called for policy support to boost the competitiveness of domestic steel production.
An article published in the Reserve Bank’s October Bulletin noted that steel imports have seen a surge, largely driven by lower import prices. This has adversely impacted the domestic steel production.
“The dumping of cheap steel from global producers may pose a risk to the domestic steel production, which can be mitigated through suitable policy measures. The recent initiative to impose the safeguard duty provides insulation against the import dumping,” said the article titled ‘Steel Under Siege: Understanding the Impact of Dumping on India’.
India imported steel products to supplement its consumption demand. The country’s iron and steel imports expanded by 10.7 per cent in the first half of 2024-25 and recorded a contraction in the second half of 2024-25, mainly due to safeguard duties. India recorded a 22 per cent growth in its steel imports in 2023-24, fuelled by softer steel prices in the international market.
India imports nearly 45 per cent of steel from the top five destinations -- South Korea (import share 14.6 per cent), China (9.8 per cent), the US (7.8 per cent), Japan (7.1 per cent) and the UK (6.2 per cent). Steel imports increased from China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam during 2024-25, the article said.
Further, it said India’s steel consumption grew by 12.9 per cent on average (average of monthly growth rates) from April 2022 to November 2024.
