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Credit rating agency Crisil in its latest report has said that India's finished steel import may touch 6 million tonne (MT) mark in the current fiscal (FY24) mainly on account of strong domestic demand, supported by government spending on infrastructure, building and construction segments. In April- November 2023, India imported 4.26 MT of finished steel, up 13.4 per cent on-year even as its exports declined 6.2 per cent to 4.03 MT, making the country a net importer of finished steel.

According to the report, this fiscal, the steel sector in India is poised to clock its third consecutive year of double-digit growth at 11-13 per cent after growing 11.4 per cent and 13.4 per cent in fiscals 2022 and 2023, respectively. The report comes at a time when steel players are registering strong concerns of surging imports.

The report further said global steel demand, which has been subdued since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, is expected to grow 1.6 per cent in 2023, after a sharp fall of 3.3 per cent in 2022. The tepid rate of growth rides largely on a buoyant 13 per cent growth in demand in India, which has bucked the trend so far. Chinese mills have started pushing volumes into the global market at highly competitive prices. Between January-November this year, exports from China increased 35.6 per cent to 82.7 MT - the highest since 2016. Chinese exports to India have also surged.