India's finished steel exports rise by over 30% m-o-m in Jan'24: JPC

India's finished steel exports witnessed a significant increase in January 2024, rising by 31.4% m-o-m to 0.846 million tonnes (mnt) compared to 0.644 mnt in December 2023. This represented a y-o-y increase of 43.9% from 0.588 mnt in January 2023, according to provisional data released by the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) under the Ministry of Steel.

Key drivers of export growth

Increased demand in the Middle East: Exports to the Middle East rose due to competitive pricing offered by Indian steelmakers.

Higher prices in the European market: Indian steel exports were more attractive to European buyers due to higher domestic prices in the European market compared to Indian export prices.

Cumulative export performance

The cumulative export volume for April 2023-January 2024 also showed positive growth, increasing by 3.6% y-o-y to 5.521 mnt compared to 5.329 mnt in the same period a year ago.

Finished steel imports fall 14.6% m-o-m

Finished steel imports into India experienced a fall in January 2024, registering a 14.6% m-o-m fall to 0.771 mnt compared to 0.903 mnt in December 2023. However, imports rose by 29.4% from 0.596 mnt in January 2023.

The imports are attributed to the influx of competitively priced steel from China and South Korea into the Indian market. These imports have gained a foothold due to their affordability, posing challenges to domestic steel producers.

In April 2023-January 2024, imports increased by 34.8% y-o-y to 6.739 mnt against 5 mnt in the same period last year.

Crude steel production inches up m-o-m

Crude steel production inched up by 0.8% m-o-m from 12.239 mnt in January 2024 to 12.141 mnt in December 2023. Moreover, production displayed a healthy y-o-y growth of 5%, surpassing 11.658 mnt produced in January 2023.

For the period April 2023-January 2024, cumulative crude steel output remained positive, registering a 12.9% y-o-y increase. Production reached 118.371 mnt against 104.816 mnt in the same period previous year.

Finished steel production decline

India's finished steel production exhibited contrasting trends in January 2024, experiencing a decline of 2.1% m-o-m to 11.652 mnt as compared to 11.896 mnt in December 2023, while maintaining robust growth y-o-y of 1.4%, surpassing the 11.496 mnt produced in January 2023.

For the period April 2023-January 2024, cumulative finished steel production registered a significant 12.7% y-o-y increase. Production reached 113.847 mnt, compared to 101.052 mnt in the same period of the previous year.

Finished steel consumption inches up

India's finished steel consumption was range-bound in January 2024, reaching 12.023 mnt. This represented a slight m-o-m increase of 0.8% from 11.926 mnt in December 2023. On a y-o-y basis, consumption grew by 7.8% compared to 11.154 mnt in January 2023.

The upcoming central elections pushed up the completion of various infrastructure projects increasing the consumption of steel.

This strong performance extended to the cumulative period of April 2023-January 2024, where total finished steel consumption climbed to 112.416 mnt, a 14.4% increase from 98.289 mnt recorded during the same period in the previous year.