Indian bulk HRC export shipment increases by 67% m-o-m in Mar ’21

Indian bulk HRC export shipments increased sharply by 67% to 5,37,445 t in Mar ’21 as against 2,83,507 t in Feb ’21, as per the data maintained by SteelMint.

SteelMint gleans the following reasons behind the increase-

1. Higher export realizations- Major Indian mills preferred exports on higher price realizations. Indian steel mills are offering around $900/t CFR Vietnam and around $1,000/t CFR Antwerp. Offers are expected to increase further on changing international market situations. Thus, higher price realization in exports over domestic prices resulted in a surge in export volumes.

2. Subdued demand in the domestic market- Domestic demand from downstream industries remained tepid over rising steel prices, as a result market participants adopted a wait and watch approach. Therefore, major Indian mills also announced a correction in steel prices by INR 1,000/t at the beginning of Mar ’21.

3. Vietnamese importers preferred Indian origin HRC- Due to the continuing uncertainty on Chinese export rebate cuts that are likely to be announced on10th of Apr ’21, Vietnam importers are preferring Indian origin HRC to avoid the risk of losses. This, in turn, gave a boost to HRC exports from India.

4. Indian mills have increased their production levels- JSW has reported an increase in capacity utilization during Q4 FY ’21, which has improved significantly to 93% as against 66% in Q1. Meanwhile, other major steel mills have ramped up their production post COVID. Furthermore, the mills have increased their allocations for exports to overseas market

India’s most preferred destination for HRC exports are as follows-

• Vietnam import volumes stood at 47,110 t in Mar ’21 in contrast with 21,360 t in Feb ’21, registering a 121% growth m-o-m.
• The United Arab Emirates imported HRC from India at around 1,15,500 t in Mar ’21 as against 66,898 t a month ago.
• Italy imported about 1,62,920 t in Mar ’21 registering a surge by 70% in comparison with 95,980 t a month back.

Port-wise exports-

• Mormugao remained the busiest port for export, the volumes stood at 1,84,135 t in Mar ’21, marking a 119% growth as against 84,168 t in Feb ’21.
• The other major ports were Paradip, which stood at 97,110 t (up by 89%) and Dhamra which stood at 1,04,200 t (up by 18%) in Mar ’21.
• On the other hand, Hazira port reported a drop in shipments of about 22% to 46,000 t in Mar ‘21 in comparison with 59,350 in Feb ‘21

Company-wise export-

• Tata Steel ltd. was the leading exporter in Mar ’21, with a volume of 2,21,310 t as against 1,10,419 t a month ago.
• Second, in line was JSW Steel, volumes stood at 2,13,135 t in Mar ’21 as against 84,168 t in Feb ’21.
• Meanwhile, export volumes from ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Ltd. (AM/NS) dropped by 22% to 46,000 t in Mar ’21 in comparison with 59,350 t a month ago.

Outlook- Indian HRC export volumes are expected to remain high in Apr ’21 on robust bookings for May-Jun ’21 deliveries. Also, higher price realizations and a global shortage of HRC shall lead to further increase in exports from India in the near term.