India becomes net steel importer in 2018/19

NEW DELHI: India was a net importer of steel during the 2018/19 fiscal year, the first time in three years, as the country lost market share among its traditional steel buyers and imports jumped on demand for higher-quality steel domestically.

The country's finished steel exports fell by 34 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in March to 6.36 million tonnes, according to preliminary government data given to Reuters on Friday. During the same period, finished steel imports rose 4.7 per cent to 7.84 million tonnes.

India's exports during the fiscal year declined after rival steelmakers in China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, blocked from markets in the United States and Europe by tariffs and other protectionist measures, ate away at the country's markets in the Middle East and Africa, according to a government official with close knowledge of the matter.

Imports from the four Asian countries also climbed as they diverted supply into India, the source said.

Imports of value-added steel, primarily for the auto sector and high-end electrical steel were the biggest source of imports, the source said.