Finished steel exports jump over two-fold in Apr-Jul, imports shrink 42 pc: JPC

India's export of finished steel grew over two-fold during the April-July period of the ongoing fiscal, while imports of such products reduced by about 42 per cent, official data showed. "Import of total finished steel from China declined by 21.7 per cent during this period," it said. The production of finished steel fell 39.8 per cent to 21.152 MT from 35.156 MT in April-July of 2019, the data showed.

India's export of finished steel grew over two-fold during the April-July period of the ongoing fiscal, while imports of such products reduced by about 42 per cent, official data showed. During April-June, the country's total exports of finished steel stood at 4.641 million tonnes (MT) as against 1.933 MT in the year ago period, the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said.

JPC, under the Ministry of Steel, is the country's only institution that collects and maintains data on Indian steel and iron sector. "Vietnam was the largest export market (at 1.37 MT) for India," JPC said.

According to the data, the country reduced its imports by 42 per cent to 1.506 MT during the period under review from 2.597 MT a year ago. "Import of total finished steel from China declined by 21.7 per cent during this period," it said.

The production of finished steel fell 39.8 per cent to 21.152 MT from 35.156 MT in April-July of 2019, the data showed. Steel consumption also fell 43.3 per cent to 18.909 MT as against 33.346 MT in the same period of the preceding fiscal.