India's zinc semi-finish imports surge 75% on lower scrap volumes in H1 2023

India's import of zinc semi-finish goods increased by 75% due to decreased scrap import volume, which fell by 23% in H1 2023 compared to the same time last year (CPLY).

India's total zinc imports, including semi-finished and scrap, increased 37% in H1 2023, indicating a strong trend. In H1 2023, the overall import volume of semi-finished and scrap products was 153,683 tonnes (t), compared to 112,378 t in H1 2022.

Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL), a Vedanta subsidiary, is India's sole zinc producer. The volume of zinc produced in H1 2023 was 424,000 t, a 2% increase over the previous year.

Because of expanding demand, India is a big zinc importer, trailing only Vietnam and the United States. Infrastructure investments and increased steel production are driving this trend. This increase will be accelerated by the use of galvanised steel in projects such as motorways, high-speed rail, and vehicles. According to reports, the galvanising industry consumes 60% of zinc, whereas die-casting alloy consumes 16%, alloy producing (brass) consumes 12%, oxides and chemicals consume 10%, and rolled goods consume 2%.

Commodity-wise imports

In H1 2023, India's imports of semi-finished products totaled 120,264 t, a 75% increase over H1 2022 levels of roughly 687,83 t.

Imports of zinc scrap, on the other hand, fell 23% to 33,420 t during the same period, compared to 43,595 t in the CPLY. Zinc saves (23,100 t), scroll (4,220 t), and score (2,530 t) were the top three scrap grades imported. Other grades of zinc scrap were also imported, totaling approximately 3,570 t, according to SteelMint's provisional data.

Country-wise imports

The majority of India's zinc products came from South Korea, Japan, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.

South Korea was India's leading exporter in H1 2023, with 89,578 t, an increase of 83% year on year. They mostly shipped semi-finished products. Japan came in second with 20,902 t, a significant 131% increase from H1 2022, which also included semi-finished products. In H1 2023, the US provided 6,260 t of zinc scrap products to India, compared to 7,336 t in the CPLY. The UAE exported 6,244 t of scrap and 2,078 t of semi-finished items.