According to Indian trade statistics, India’s scrap steel imports decline continued in March, dropping sharply by 29.0% year-on-year to 635,000 tons. This shows a significant downturn in India’s scrap steel imports.
This is the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year decline. On a month-on-month basis, imports also fell by 28.7% to the lowest level in nine months since June last year (610,000 tons). The drop in India’s scrap steel imports is evident.
First Quarter Imports Show Continued Decrease
As a result, India’s scrap steel imports for the first quarter (January to March) of this year also fell by 18.1% year-on-year to 2,688,000 tons from 3,282,000 tons in the same period last year. This continued slump in India’s scrap steel imports has industry experts concerned.
However, this decline follows last year’s record import surge. In fact, imports have more than doubled compared to the first quarter of 2022 (1,280,000 tons).
Last year, India’s total scrap steel imports jumped 40.4% year-on-year to 11.76 million tons, surpassing the 10 million ton mark for the first time in history. It was the second country in Asia to surpass this milestone, after South Korea in 2012 (10.13 million tons).
Decline in Imports from Key Exporting Countries
In the first quarter of this year, imports from the United States plummeted 38.9% year-on-year to 405,000 tons, while imports from the United Kingdom fell 22.1% to 399,000 tons. In particular, imports from the United Arab Emirates plunged 60.1% to 155,000 tons during this period. Overall, the India scrap steel imports decline is impacting trade relationships.
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