SteelMint: India's pellet production rises 9%, m-o-m, in Jan'22

Production of iron pellets in India stood at around 6.7 million tonnes (mnt) in Jan'22, higher by over 9% from 6.13 mnt in Dec, SteelMint's month-wise production data shows. The data derives pellet production of different companies from their quantum of iron ore sourcing on a monthly basis.

Odisha remained the top pellet-producing state in India with over 2 mnt of production in Jan, or about 32% of the country's total production. Notably, Odisha production rose by around 22% m-o-m in Jan from 1.75 mnt in Dec, data shows.

Production from Karnataka increased to 1.58 mnt from 1.47 mnt in Dec, while Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand recorded production at around 0.6 mnt and 0.8 mnt, respectively. Production from West Bengal remained stable at around 0.5 mnt.

Production and prices remained supported on an optimistic export outlook amid rising domestic steel prices. Pellet export prices saw a significant rise in Jan following the hike in iron ore prices. Restocking demand from China ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays supported export prices.

India's pellet-making capacity is currently assessed at around 111 mnt and production in CY'21 rose to nearly 75 mnt from around 65 mnt in CY'20.