India govt says low steel prices will hurt capacity creation

India’s goals for boosting steel production capacity will be adversely impacted by low prices stemming from dumping in the international market, the federal Ministry of Steel said on Wednesday.

The world’s second-biggest crude steel producer aims to produce 300 million metric tons by 2030, compared with about 180 million metric tons at present.

“If adequate domestic steel production capacity is not created, the country will become a net importer of steel and will depend on imports of steel for its infrastructure creation,” the steel ministry said in a statement.

Low steel prices affected both large and small producers, the ministry said.

“While the overall volume of steel imports, as compared to total consumption in the country, is not significant, cheaper imports lead to depression of domestic steel prices and affect steel producers, both large and small,” the ministry said.

India turned a net importer of steel in fiscal year 2023/24 and the trend has continued since then, with imports rising steadily.

The country’s finished steel imports during April-October surged to a seven-year high of 5.7 million metric tons.

India’s steel ministry favours a safeguard duty or a temporary tax to curb rising steel imports, a senior government official told Reuters last month.

Top Indian steel producers such as JSW Steel JSTL.NS, Tata Steel TISC.NS and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India have raised concerns about cheaper steel imports from China.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Devika Syamnath)