India's billet exports stable y-o-y at 2.8 mn t in H1CY'21

India, one of the leading exporters of steel billets, registered 2.8 million tonnes (mn t) of export volumes in the first six months of CY'21 (Jan-Jun'21), largely stable as compared to 2.9 mn t in Jan-Jun'20, as per customs data maintained by SteelMint.

Nepal takes over China to become largest importer

Nepal turned out to be the largest importer of steel billets from India at 0.67 mn t during Jan-Jun'21, outstripping China in H1CY'20.

China slipped to the second position among the top importers' list in H1CY'21 with 0.54 mn t followed by Indonesia with 0.32 mn t. Indian billet exports to Indonesia saw a massive increase of 174% y-o-y in Jan-Jun'21 while those to Nepal were up by 55% y-o-y.

India's billet exports up 25% in Jun'21

India's billet exports in Jun'21 stood at 0.55 mn t, up 25% m-o-m as against 0.44 mn t in May'21. China was the largest importer with 0.14 mn t in Jun'21 followed by Nepal and Indonesia.

With domestic demand turning subdued amidst lockdown restrictions in India during May-Jun'21, mills remained active in exports in order to offset inventories.

Further, Indian billet export prices hit an all-time high of $630/tonne (t) FoB at the beginning of May'21. Also, China's slashing of import tariffs on semi-finished steel boosted exports from India.

Further, active billet buying from China on expected domestic supply shortage due to production cuts in H2CY'21 continued to support export bookings.

Outlook: Indian billet exports are likely to remain on the higher side in Jul'21 on active bookings, supported by higher global prices.