India’s steel exports rise to 13.5 million tonnes in FY’22

The impressive performance of the steel sector also contributed greatly to the all time record of merchandise exports worth $420 billion from India, he said at a conference on Steel and Engineering exports organised by the Metalogic, PMS.

Notwithstanding the challenges arising out of Covid-19, it is heartening to note Steel Sector both in terms of external trade as well as domestic steel production and consumption registered a  record performance, Kulaste said.

The engineering sector, being closely linked to the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, is of strategic importance to India's economy and steel sector is closely linked to this sector, he said.

India’s all time high steel consumption, at around 106 million tonnes and production at 120 million tonnes shows not only the resilience of the sector but also displays the exemplary grit and determination of steel players in India, the minister added.

Speaking further, the minister said that India has the potential to do better in steel sector across all areas. The Indian steel sector is vibrant and growing at a CAGR of around 5 per cent to 6 per cent on a year-on-year basis, he added.

Government of India  has brought Production Linked Scheme (PLI) to produce speciality steel in the country and this will further strengthen the country’s steel sector in the coming days, the minister stated.

Besides, the production of identified products to meet the domestic demand as well as export will enhance their share in the country’s external trade.

With the government's policy announcements and changes in global supply-demand equations across sectors, including railways, road, aviation, gas pipelines and housing, the sector is expected to witness significant growth in the coming  years due to increase in investment in infrastructure and industrial production.

Demand for steel in the country has gone up, but at the same time the competition for steel with other materials has also increased. In many sectors like automobiles, white goods, railways, space, steel is being replaced by other materials such as composite materials, because these are lighter, stronger as steel, and cheaper. The minister advised steel players to reduce the cost of production of steel by adopting the latest technology and said the sector must be ready to face the challenges for steel making from alternative materials.

He advised steel makers to focus on export of value added products rather than semi finished steel as production and export of steel in the country has a direct impact on the growth of economy as well as employment in the country.

The minister further stated that the ministry of steel is continuously interacting with stakeholders in the steel sector to arrive at policy formulations for the growth of the sector. Due to the decisions taken by our government from time to time, the export of finished steel has increased and imports have decreased. Import of defective steel has been curbed to a great extent due to implementation of Quality Control Order and till date QCO has been enforced on 142 standards. He also promised that the ministry of steel will look into the suggestions emerging out of the daylong conference.