According to World Steel Association (WSA), India, the third largest steel producer in the world was among the top 10 importers of the steel in year 2015.
World Steel Association data counts on steel imports as,
Countries – MT
European Union - 37.7 United States - 36.5 Germany - 24.8 South Korea - 21.7 Italy - 19.9 Turkey - 18.6 Vietnam - 16.3 Thailand - 14.6 France - 13.7 India - 13.3
Finished steel
Vishnu Deo Sai, Minister of State for Steel replied to Lok Sabha that in 2015-16 the steel import was at 11.71 MT, which has been risen by 25.6% against 9.32 MT in 2014-15.
WSA also wrote that exports of India were 7.6 MT of steel in the previous year hence, making India the net importer of steel.
In comparison with China, India imported 13.3 MT of the metal in 2015 and was just a sliver apart from China, which imported 13.2 MT at same time.
WSA reports also added that Indian exports were just a fraction of what China exported during the same period at 111.6 MT.
This 10th rank is marked as a stress for Indian steel sector because of rising imports. On this steel minister assured that he will take steps to safeguard steel industry.
“It has come to the notice of the government that imports from China, Japan and Korea have increased, which are creating trouble for domestic industry and also causing losses to it.”
On the good side, WSA has forecasted that the demand for India’s steel is expected to jump by 5.4 per cent to 83.8 MT in 2016.
