Inbound purchases rose 1.7 percent to 850,000 metric tons last month from a year earlier, slowing from 17 percent growth in August and a 69 percent increase in July, according to initial data from steel ministry’s joint plant committee Thursday. Imports grew 41 percent to 5.4 million tons during the six months through September, the data showed.
The global steel industry is struggling with huge exports from China as excess supply spills onto world markets. China’s exports in August were close to January’s record and 25 percent more than a year earlier, customs data show, forcing countries to impose protectionist measures. India raised the import tax on some products in August and imposed a 20 percent temporary safeguard duty in September on fears of an influx of cheaper products from China after it devalued the yuan to boost exports.
Output in India dropped 0.8 percent during September to 7.28 million tons, while consumption climbed 5 percent to 6.2 million tons, the steel ministry’s data showed. The country’s steel industry may not meet the target of having annual capacity of 300 million tons by 2025 as envisaged by the government’s Steel Policy 2012, the National Council of Applied Economic Research said on Oct. 6.
The current condition of the industry is “dismal with very low profits, low capacity utilization, and dim prospects of new private investments, either foreign or domestic,” the New-Delhi based council said. The sector is constrained by supply-side factors such as the availability of land or minerals or environmental clearances, inadequate demand and macro-economic factors, it said.
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