- Australia, Oman lead among exporters
- JSW Steel emerges as top importer
India’s iron ore and pellet imports rose sharply to 1.82 million tonnes (mnt) in July 2025, hitting a six-and-a-half-year high. The last time imports crossed this level was in January 2018 at 1.95 mnt and, prior to that, in February 2015.
Imports increased 30% m-o-m from 1.4 mnt in June 2025 and surged multifold y-o-y from 0.31 mnt in July 2024. The sharp rise signals strong domestic demand, possibly driven by supply constraints followed by import-driven cost advantages.
This is the highest monthly inflow recorded this year. Additionally, cumulative imports stood at 6.43 mnt in January-July 2025, sourced primarily from Oman and Australia. The figures were around 2.28 mnt in January-July 2024. Notably, pellet imports were nil in January-July 2024 by Indian steelmakers.
Commodity-wise volumes
India imported around 1.53 mnt of iron ore and 0.29 mnt of pellets in July. In the last seven month of CY’25 data stood at 5.25 mnt of iron ore and 1.18 mnt of pellets. Similarly, Out of the total 6.43 mnt, iron ore recorded around 5.25 mnt and 1.18 mnt imported by Indian steelmaker in the last seven months.
Leading importer
JSW Steel was the leading importer and carrying 76% weightage of total iron ore imports to India in the last seven months to 4.87 mnt in this calendar year 2025 others like Balaji malt around 0.25 mnt.
Meanwhile, the company imported around 1.0 mnt iron ore in Jul’25.
Sourcing countries
As per port-wise data, through Oman exported both iron ore and pellet around 3.17 mnt, while Australia and Brazil exported 1.34 mnt and 1.01 mnt, respectively, in this calendar year till July 2025.
In July, Australia and Oman exported around 0.19 mnt and 0.4 mnt iron ore and pellet to India.
Factors influencing iron ore, pellet imports in Jul’25
- India’s steel production rises y-o-y: India’s crude steel production recorded a healthy uptick of 9% y-o-y to 80.6 mnt in H1CY’25 on steady capacity expansion and higher consumption. Parallelly, finished steel production also increased 9% to 77.8 mnt. In comparison, output in CY’24 had increased at 6% y-o-y to 148 mnt, indicating the first half of this year witnessed an acceleration in production momentum.
- Competitive pricing of high-grade pellets lures importers: Domestic producers largely supply Fe 62.5-63% grade pellets, whereas imported material, particularly from the Middle East, are of Fe >65% grade, which are preferred by Indian steelmakers. The availability of these at competitive prices boosted import volumes.
- Global iron ore prices fall: The benchmark spot iron ore fines (Fe62%, Australian origin) dropped by $5/t m-o-m to $94.5/t CFR China in June. Falling prices attracted Indian buyers, as the domestic market faced a shortage of higher-grade iron ore. A few long-term agreement (LTA) deals were also noted, which helped boost the volume of imports. Meanwhile, the spot prices fell by $17-18/t y-o-y to $100/t CFR China in H1CY25.
- Regional supply woes, high inland freights boost imports: Supply bottlenecks in key production regions and high freight costs from central India to western ports made domestic sourcing expensive. This cost disadvantage, especially when compared to falling global prices, tilted the scale in favour of pellet imports.
Outlook
Iron ore and pellet imports by Indian steelmakers are expected to remain volatile in August. An iron ore shortage in the domestic market, caused by heavy rainfall, may keep the focus on imports. However, global iron ore prices are rising to around $100/t CFR China, which may slow down India’s import momentum. Moreover, some spot pellet deals that were finalised in July are likely to be shipped to India in August, which could help maintain pellet imports.
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