According to data from the Steel Ministry, several key export markets for India’s steel, including Vietnam, Italy, Spain, Belgium, UAE, and others, either reduced their orders or maintained them at the same level in May compared to April.
This can be attributed to global economic uncertainties, competitive pricing offered by China, and other factors. The provisional numbers indicate that finished steel exports remained flat at 1.6 mln tons when compared to the April-May period of the previous year.
However, on a month-on-month basis, exports experienced a decline of 19 pct to 700,000 tons in May, as opposed to 900,000 tons in April.
In terms of volume, the most exported steel product was hot rolled coils, accounting for 38 pct of the total finished steel exports with 584,000 tons.
According to the Ministry’s report, the top buyers of Indian steel during April-May included Italy, Belgium, Spain, Nepal, and the UK. However, there has been a noticeable slowdown in orders from European nations due to recession and quotas, while in Asian markets, the availability of lower-priced Chinese steel has affected purchases from Indian mills.
Specifically, Vietnam, which is one of the major buyers of Indian steel, refrained from placing orders due to weak demand and lower offers from China.
In Europe, Italy and Belgium saw increased buying, rising by 5 pct and 63 pct respectively compared to the previous month, reaching 220,000 tons and 80,000 tons.
However, the UAE witnessed a 37 pct decline in orders to 36,000 tons in May compared to April, and orders to Nepal dropped by 15 pct to 50,000 tons.
