India’s finished steel imports from China, South Korea and Japan hit a record high in the first ten months of 2024-25 as per provisional government data obtained by Reuters. As the second largest producer of crude steel, India imported more steel than it exported between April and January.

Record Import from Key Asian Suppliers

South Korea became India’s largest steel supplier, with imports up 11.7% year-on-year to 2.4 million tonne. China was a close second, with exports of 2.3 million tonne, up 3.4% year-on-year. Japan saw the biggest jump, with imports rising 88.6% year-on-year to 1.8 million tonne. Indonesia also saw a big jump, with steel exports to India tripling to 0.3 million tonne. Together, China, South Korea and Japan accounted for 78% of India’s total finished steel imports.

India Considers Protectionist Measures to Check Imports

In response to the rising imports, Steel Ministry has asked Finance Ministry to double the basic customs duty on imported finished steel products from 7.5% to 15% in the 2025-26 budget. In December 2024, the government initiated an investigation to determine if a safeguard duty or temporary tax is needed to control the influx of steel imports. Last month, Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had suggested the possibility of imposing a safeguard duty of 15% to 25% on steel imports to protect domestic steelmakers from excessive imports.

Steel Exports Fall to Seven-Year Low

While imports soared, India’s finished steel exports fell to a seven-year low in April-January. Exports to Italy, India’s biggest export market, almost halved. Shipments to Belgium, Nepal and Spain also saw big declines. The rise in steel imports and declining exports has raised concerns about the competitiveness of India’s domestic steel industry, price stability and the country’s steel trade balance.