India’s steel billet exports rose by 18pc in Jan 2020 to 219,000mt, from 185,000mt in Jan 2019, according to the government’s data.
In the Apr 2019-Jan 2020 period, billet exports from India increased by 29pc to 2,416,000mt, from the prior-year period. Of these, Nepal imported 881,000 mt of billets from India. Other major importers from India were Italy with 271,000 mt, Sri Lanka with 211,000 mt, Thailand with 165,000mt, Philippines with 111,000 mt, followed by the rest.
The country’s exports fell by 51pc in January from 446,000mt in Dec 2019. Mills focused on sales in the domestic markets amid healthy demand and better realisation.