India’s steel exports in calendar 2023 (CY’23) were driven by the European Union (EU) which showed a substantial y-o-y growth. However, India’s overall volumes fell 22% in CY’23 to around 8 million tonnes (mnt) against 10 mnt in CY’22 because most of the other key importing geographies showed sharp y-o-y declines.
CY’24 is likely to emerge as a challenging year for Indian mills in terms of exports and for multiple reasons. One, China may continue to remain an aggressive exporter in the current calendar, if its home demand and prices fail to pick up. Two, even though the EU offered solace in terms of decent imports last year, the quotas do act as a barrier for Indian mills.