Aisha Steel Mills Limited said domestic flat steel demand in Pakistan is rebounding from last year’s lows, with a strong recovery in cold-rolled and coated steel consumption, according to the company’s corporate briefing.
Cold-rolled and galvanized steel demand surged from 570,000 tons in FY 2022-23 to 1 mln tons in FY 2024-25, an 84pct increase. However, local producers captured only marginal growth, while imports jumped 148pct, limiting the benefit for domestic mills. Aisha Steel attributed the surge in imports to sales tax exemptions for FATA/PATA regions, which allowed duty-free entry of flat steel. These imports will face a 10pct sales tax from FY 2025-26, rising gradually to 18pct, which is expected to improve competitiveness for local manufacturers.
Aisha Steel also expects stable global steel prices, particularly Chinese HRC, to support margins. HRC fell from USD 530 per ton FOB China in July 2024 to USD 450 in June 2025 but has since stabilized around USD 475, helped by China’s production cuts.
The company anticipates stronger demand in FY26, supported by the planned expansion of anti-dumping duties to cover galvalume and ZAM products and the phased withdrawal of FATA/PATA tax concessions, measures expected to improve capacity utilization at Aisha Steel.
Signs of improvement are already visible with its Q1 FY26 flat steel sales rose to 43,376 tons, up from 20,504 tons a year earlier, while exports increased to 5,856 tons from 1,975 tons.
Management highlighted ongoing challenges, including stay orders obtained by importers against National Tariff Commission duties, allowing duty-free clearances during litigation, and the acceptance of post-dated cheques instead of bank guarantees. The company expects progress on these issues soon.
Aisha Steel started its commercial operation in 2012 and is one of the largest manufacturers of flat rolled steel located in Port Qassim, Karachi. The company’s annual capacity of cold rolled steel is 700,000 tons and galvanized steel is 250,000 tons.
