How did the Indian mill scale industry perform in CY'24?

Mill scale is iron oxide that forms on a surface during hot rolling of steel. It serves as a key raw material for the pellet industry. The prices witnessed varying trends last year, backed by the movement of exports and buying inquiries from domestic pellet players.

Domestic mill scale price trends in major markets:

• Kandla: Mill scale average prices in Kandla were recorded at INR 7,100/tonnes (t) DAP in CY'24, down by INR 150/t y-o-y as compared with CY'23. Prices rose to their highest levels of INR 7,500-7,600/t DAP Kandla in early Jun'24 before dropping to the year's lowest of INR 6,400-6,500/t DAP levels in mid-Sept'24.
  
  
• Raipur: Mill scale average prices in Raipur were recorded at INR 7,000/t exw in CY'24, up by INR 500/t y-o-y as compared with CY'23. Prices rose to their highest levels of INR 7,550 exw in mid-Nov'24 on improved trades and steel price support. The year's lowest was recorded at INR 6,350/t exw at the end of March 24.
  
  

Indian mill scale exports fall y-o-y:

India's mill scale exports stood at 464,000 t in CY'24, reflecting a 20% y-o-y decline compared to 580,000 t in 2023, according to BigMint data.

In addition, higher export volumes were recorded from Kandla port. In CY'24, out of the total export volumes of 464,052 t, Kandla port contributed around 448,052 t, whereas the rest was exported from Chennai port.

Country-wise contribution on mill scale export:

The Philippines was the largest importer of Indian mill scale at 224,055 t in CY'24, up by 89% y-o-y against 118,400 t in CY'23. There has been a notable surge in demand for mill scale from the Philippines, driven by these countries' efforts to enhance the Fe content of the material, as observed by BigMint.

Indonesia emerged as the second-largest mill scale importer with 105,000 t in CY'24, a significant drop of 36% was seen against 164,223 t in CY'23.

Malaysia imported 102,000 t mill scale from India in CY'24, recording a decline of 5% against 107,830 t in CY'23.

Imports into Vietnam were recorded 32,997 t in CY'24.