Vietnam takes top spot for Indian steel exports in FY 2021-22

Vietnam was the leading destination for India's finished steel products in fiscal year 2021-22 (April-March), despite a 22.9% year on year drop, provisional data from the Joint Plant Committee showed April 19.

About 1.70 million mt of steel was shipped to Vietnam in FY 2021-22, JPC's data showed, as the Southeast Asian country reduced its dependence on imports of hot-rolled coil.

JPC's data showed 1.66 million mt of HRC was exported to Vietnam, down 21.3% from 2.11 million mt delivered the year before.

The lower HRC exports were due to Vietnamese steelmaker Hoa Phat achieving its first full year of operation in 2021 for its new 3.5 million mt/year HRC mill at its Dung Quat steel complex.

The HRC mill began operations in May 2020 and produced 2.6 million mt of HRC in 2021, more than triple from nearly 700,000 mt manufactured in 2020.

Most of Hoa Phat's HRC produced in 2021 was slated for local demand while only 30,000 mt was exported. The HRC exports are expected to fall in future as Hoa Phat plans to build a new hot-strip steel mill that will add 5.5 million mt/year of capacity as early as 2024.

Despite the 22.9% drop in finished steel exports to Vietnam, India's overall exports for the year shot up 29.1% annually to 10.78 million mt, supported by exports to Europe and the Middle East, especially for HRC.

The UAE took the second spot for Indian finished steel exports with 1.27 million mt, a 52.7% hike from the year before. The bulk of the exports to the UAE was HRC, which stood at 784,100 mt, a 32.2% rise from 592,900 mt.

Italy and Belgium took the third and fourth positions, respectively, with 1.26 million mt and 1.12 million mt. The former was up 24% year on year while the latter more than doubled its imports from India.

Exports to Turkey jump

Turkey took fifth place with 985,200 mt, a more than 35-time spike from 27,700 mt the year before. The spike was due to a sharp increase in HRC demand, which led to 875,800 mt of Indian HRC sent to Turkey versus 2,000 mt the previous year.

One factor behind the higher HRC exports was lower HRC prices offered by Indian steel mills compared with Turkish mill prices.

By achieving 10.78 million mt in exports for the year, India became a net exporter of finished steel as imports of the same fell 1.7% yearly to 4.75 million mt.

Typically, the JPC releases two monthly reports on the Indian steel industry with one providing an overview while the other offers detailed breakdowns.

India's steel exports are likely to remain strong in the first month of FY 2022-23, as the European Commission adjusted its EU steel imports quota system, effective April 1, to avoid regional market shortages following its ban on steel from Russia and Belarus due to their actions in Ukraine.

The Russian Federation's quota to send nonalloy and other alloy hot rolled sheets and strips to the EU was 407,786 mt for Jan. 1 to March 31. Its quota has been distributed among Turkey, India, Republic of Korea, UK, Serbia and other countries.