China’s finished steel exports to India more than doubled YoY in April, reaching around 232,000 tons, the highest monthly level in at least two years, according to provisional Indian government data, Reuters reported.
The increase made China the largest supplier of finished steel to India during the month, despite safeguard duties imposed by India on certain steel products to curb imports.
Imports were led by hot-rolled coils, followed by stainless steel products. While hot-rolled coils are subject to safeguard duties, stainless steel products remain exempt from the measures.
Indian steelmakers have expressed concerns over the continued influx of low-priced imports. According to industry sources, Chinese HRC prices were lower than domestic offers by USD 11-37 per ton, making imported material attractive to buyers.
Vietnam was among the top five steel suppliers to India in April, with shipments rising more than fourfold to around 59,000 tons.
Market participants also indicated that some hot rolled steel cargoes originally destined for the Middle East were redirected to India amid disruptions caused by the Iran conflict.
In the 2025/26 fiscal year, China’s steel exports to India declined 39.4pct YoY to 1.5 mln tons.