Steel exports rise in fourth quarter, but lag year-ago levels

India’s steel exports climbed sequentially in the fourth quarter at more remunerative prices, but volumes remained below the levels seen in the comparable period a year ago.

Exports of finished steel products rose to 1.98 million tonnes in the fourth quarter, up nearly 73% from 1.14 million tonnes in the third quarter, data from the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) showed. Exports were, however, at two-thirds of the level of the previous year.

For the full year FY23, India’s finished steel exports halved to 6.72 million tonnes compared to the previous year due to the impact of an export duty on steel. The duty was levied in May and then repealed in November.

The government of India had imposed the export duty on most categories of steel to bring down the prices of the alloy in the domestic market in its effort to arrest inflation. This, however, made Indian steel manufacturers uncompetitive for the export markets.

Exports have risen month-on-month from November after the duty removal. Exports in March were, in fact, the highest for any month in FY23 at 812,100 tonnes, as per JPC data.