Nepal's steel imports inch down 16%, m-o-m, in Oct'21

Nepal imported a total of 119,000 tonnes (t) of steel products in Oct'21, data maintained with SteelMint shows. On a monthly basis, imports declined by 16% compared to 140,000 t in Sept'21.

Total imports comprised 31,860 t of semi-finished steel, 59,986 t of finished flat steel and 27,599 t of finished long steel.

However, on a y-o-y basis, Nepal's steel imports declined by 30.8% compared to 170,000 in Oct'20.

Imports from India down 16% m-o-m

Last month, Nepal imported a total of 118,000 t from India, the largest exporter of steel products to the Himalayan Kingdom. However, volumes decreased by 16%, m-o-m. The second-largest exporter of steel products to Nepal was China with 724 t.

Market highlights:

• Indian IF billet prices fall: Indian billet export trade to Nepal remained mostly dull last month amidst the festive season. Following a drop in steel prices, limited import bookings from Nepal were seen in the last week of Oct.
  
  
• Rebar prices in Nepal fall: As per SteelMint assessment, domestic rebar prices in Nepal fell by NPR 2,000-3,000/t ($17-25/t), w-o-w, in the last week of Oct due to weak demand along with softening Indian steel
  
  
• Indian sponge iron export trade active: Since the Nepalese government slashed the import duty on sponge iron to zero, demand for the material continues to remain active. SteelMint confirmed one mini rake of sponge iron (FeM 81-82%, lumps 100%) export deal to Nepal in end-Oct at around $492/t, loaded from Odisha, equivalent to $515/t CPT Nepal.
  
  

Nepal steel imports up in Jan-Oct

Steel imports into Nepal were recorded at 1.78 mn t in Jan-Oct, an increase of 28% compared to 1.39 mn t in the same period last year.

Out of total imports, semi-finished steel accounted for 0.96 mn t, while finished flat and longs imports stood at 0.54 mn t and 0.27 mn t, respectively.

India remained the largest exporter with 1.71 mn t, followed by China with 66,014 t during the period.

Outlook

Steel imports by Nepal are expected to remain largely stable in Nov with limited orders placed in Oct. However, imports may pick up during in Dec and Jan'22 due to strong seasonal demand for steel in the neighbouring country, SteelMint notes.