Indian Flat Steel Imports Rise by 35% in FY16

While HRC and CRC imports increased considerably in FY16 against previous year, imports of electrical sheets plunged during FY16.

This article covers India’s flat products imports under HS codes 7208, 7209 and 7225.

HS Codes Description

7208: Flat rolled hot products iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, hot- rolled, not clad, plated or coated

7209: Flat rolled products of width>= 600mm,cold-rolled (cold-reduced),not clad,plated/coated

7225: Flat rolled products of other alloy steel (silicon electrical sheets) of width 600 mm or more

As per the provisional Customs data, import of products under HS code 7208 increased by 76% in FY 16 against previous year and stood at 3.87 MnT. The reason being cheap import influx from China, Korea, Japan, and Russia.

Although MIP have been announced by the government in Feb’16, its effect will be seen only in the imports of April and thereafter as the usual delivery time taken for import shipment to reach India is usually two months. Thus, Feb’16 and Mar’16 import numbers reflect  the bookings made in the months of Dec’15 and Jan’16.

Similarly CRC import under HS code 7209 also increased by 26% in FY 16 against previous year  and stood at 1.55 MnT in FY16.

However imports of electrical sheets under HS code 7225 have decreased by 5.42% in FY 16 against FY15 and stood at 1.92 MnT in FY16.