China Expands Market Share in India’s Finished Steel Import Market
According to the latest data from the Joint Factory Committee of India, from April to December 2023, China accounted for 31% of the market share of finished steel imports in India, which is higher than 24% in the same period last year.
From April to December 2023, India imported 1.75 million tons of Chinese steel, a year-on-year increase of 62%, making it the second largest steel supplier to India. According to data from China Customs, in 2023, China exported a total of 93.544 million tons of semi-finished and finished steel, a year-on-year increase of 39%, reaching the highest level since 2016.
South Korea remains the largest steel supplier to India, but its share of the Indian steel import market has decreased to 32% (compared to 39% in 2022). From April to December 2023, India imported 1.77 million tons of South Korean steel, a year-on-year increase of 4.11%.
Japan remains the third largest supplier of steel to India. From April to December 2023, India imported 790000 tons of Japanese steel, a year-on-year increase of 38.59%, accounting for 14% of the Indian steel import market share (13% in 2022).
Vietnam is the fourth largest steel supplier to India. From April to December 2023, India imported 540000 tons of Vietnamese steel, compared to 90000 tons in the same period last year, accounting for 10% of the Indian steel import market share (2% in 2022).
From April to December 2023, India was a net importer of finished steel products, with a total import volume of 5.57 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 26.4%. The export volume of finished steel products was 4.68 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4%. Hot rolling is the variety with the highest import quantity, with an import volume of 2.27 million tons, an increase of 56.55% year-on-year, accounting for 40.8% of the total import volume (33% in 2022)
