India remains net importer of finished steel in FY24; inbound shipment grows 38 pc to 8.32 MnT

New Delhi: India has reported a 38 per cent surge in steel imports to 8.319 million tonnes, becoming a net importer of the commodity during 2023-24 financial year, according to government data. India had imported 6.022 million tonnes (MnT) of finished steel during the preceding 2022-23 fiscal, the steel ministry’s Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said in its latest report.

JPC collects data on the Indian iron and steel industry.

The outbound shipment of steel rose by 11.50 per cent to 7.48 MnT in the last fiscal from 6.71 MnT a year ago.

“India was a net importer of total finished steel,” it said.

The data comes at a time steel makers have been raising concern over increasing imports from certain countries including China and seeking government’s intervention on the issue.

Domestic players have also been demanding a curb on imports and review of free trade agreements (FTAs) with several countries. The country’s crude steel output also rose by 12.40 per cent to 138.48 MnT from 123.19 MnT in 2022-23. The consumption of finished steel stood at 135.95 MnT, up 13.40 per cent over 119.89 MnT in the year-ago period.

Under the National Steel Policy, India aims to scale up its annual steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030, and per capita steel consumption to 160 kg.