Steel imports are rising, but India is not worried
New Delhi: Union steel minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India becoming a net importer of steel between April and November this fiscal year is not a concern for the government, terming the imports a drop in the ocean of total steel consumption in the country. “Indian steel production has gone up by 12.9% y-o-y (year-on-year). So, more steel is being produced, but the demand is also much more," he said.
“When you look at the numbers, you are producing 128 million tons (mt) of steel and exporting 6-8mt, effectively using 122mt domestically. And coming in from abroad is 5 mt." India wants to use more of its steel within the country than exporting it, Scindia said. At the same time, international steel demand remains muted, leading to excess capacity in several countries and attracting imports of the alloy, the minister added.
This comes at a time when domestic players have been lobbying with the government to introduce measures to check alleged dumping of steel in India from markets like China and Vietnam. “The rise in imports may not be a big concern now, but can become a bigger concern if this continues to grow," a steel industry executive said on condition of anonymity. “There is a need for a permanent solution to the issue so that there is a mechanism in place to deal with cheaper imports." Earlier, the steel ministry was said to be exploring the viability of implementing WTO-compliant policy measures in case it was found that steel is being dumped in India mainly from China and a few other southeast Asian countries.
“Steel industry is very cyclical. It goes through a period of glut, and it goes through a period of very high peak demand," Scindia further mentioned. He added: “Countries which used to produce steel to
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