MUMBAI: India remained a net importer of finished steel in the first quarter of FY27, underscoring how strong domestic demand and export-oriented manufacturing continue to drive overseas purchases despite safeguard duties on select products.
Provisional data from the Joint Plant Committee (JPC), reviewed by Mint, showed finished steel imports jumped 49.2% year-on-year to 2.064 million tonnes (mt) during April-June (Q1FY27), outpacing a 31.4% rise in exports to 1.593 mt, leaving India a net importer for the quarter.
Steel imports have remained resilient despite safeguard duties because of strong demand from export-oriented downstream manufacturers, particularly pipe and tube makers, according to Equirus Securities.
As governments across West Asia accelerate investment in oil, gas and water infrastructure, Indian pipe makers are winning more orders for steel pipes.
Mint reported on 22 June that domestic manufacturers continue to rely on imports from China, Japan and South Korea for certain critical-grade steel used in oil and gas pipelines. These grades are either not produced domestically or have not yet received the required certifications from end users, Dhruv Goel, chief executive of commodities market intelligence firm BigMint, told Mint earlier.
The surge comes even as domestic production and consumption continued to expand. Finished steel production rose 5.9% year-on-year to 40.994 mt during the quarter, while apparent steel consumption grew a faster 8.3% to 41.569 mt, suggesting demand continued to outpace domestic supply. Crude steel production increased 3% to 42.06 mt during April-June.
"Import momentum strengthened further in Jun'26, with imports increasing 58.2% y-o-y to 0.7mt—the highest monthly level in the past 17 months," Equirus analysts Siddharth Gadekar and Shivansh Singh wrote in a 9 July report.
“Elevated imports have started weighing on domestic steel prices, with both flat and long product prices moderating since end-May'26,” the report added.
Demand and trade tensions
The private sector continued to dominate India's steel industry during the quarter, accounting for 84% of crude steel output and 87% of finished steel production. Finished steel production by private companies rose 8% year-on-year, while output from public sector units declined 6.2%.
June extended the trend. India remained a net importer of finished steel for the third consecutive month of the fiscal year, with imports rising 57.9% year-on-year to 696,000 tonnes and exports increasing 38.1% to 616,000 tonnes. Finished steel production during the month grew 6% to 13.758 mt, while consumption increased 7.2% to 14.186 mt.
Elara Securities said in an 18 June report that it expects import demand to remain elevated, supported by a strong pipeline of export enquiries.
The persistence of imports has, however, sharpened concerns among domestic steelmakers, who have argued that cheaper shipments, particularly from China, South Korea and Japan, are hurting prices and margins. The government imposed safeguard duties on certain steel products last year to curb excessive imports and protect local manufacturers.
Last month, New Delhi also initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of hot-rolled flat steel products from China, Japan and Russia after leading domestic producers alleged that low-priced imports had caused material injury to the local industry and threatened further damage.
The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is examining an application filed by JSW Steel Ltd, JSW Vijayanagar Metallics Ltd and Jindal Steel Odisha Ltd, with support from Tata Steel Ltd and Steel Authority of India Ltd.