Consumption of total finished steel was 119.17 million
tonnes in 2022/23, up 12.7% on the year.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Mayank Bhardwaj, Robert
Birsel)
By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI, April 5 (Reuters) - India's steel exports
slumped to a five-year low in the financial year that ended in
March, as slowing global demand and an export tax hampered
shipments, government data compiled by Reuters showed on
Wednesday.
India, the world's second-biggest producer of crude steel,
shipped 6.7 million tonnes of finished steel in 2022/23, a
decline of 50.2% on the year and the lowest since 2018/19, the
data showed.
Major steelmakers had reported a drop in profits in the
December quarter, in part because the government had in May last
year imposed the export tax, which was withdrawn in November.
Most steel companies, including JSW Steel Ltd ,
India's biggest steelmaker by capacity, had projected a pick-up
in exports in the quarter that ended in March.
Meanwhile, India's imports touched a four-year high at
6 million tonnes in 2022/23, a growth of 29% on the year and the
highest since 2019/20.
During April-January, India's imports of Russian steel
reached an eight-year high, and shipments were nearly five times
higher than in the same period a year ago.
However, for 2022/23, India was a net exporter of finished
steel.
Overall, India's crude steel production reached a record
high of 125.32 million tonnes in 2022/23, up 4.2% on the year,
in line with previous government estimates.
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