India’s crude steel production in April fell by 69.5pc to 2.75mn mt from a year ago and total finished steel production declined by 84.6pc to 1.34mn mt amid COVID-19 pandemic, according to official data accessed by Davis Index. Major Indian steelmakers are operating at 50pc capacity as demand disruption and lockdown restrictions hampered steel production.
| India’s finished steel production and consumption in April | |||
| Finished Steel (mn mt) | April 2020 | April 2019 | Change (YoY) |
| Production | 1.34 | 8.75 | -85% |
| Consumption | 0.70 | 7.69 | -91% |
For most Indian steelmakers production was down close to 50pc in the month of April.
| Crude steel production by Indian steelmakers in April (mt) | |||||
| Producers | April 2020 | April 2019 | Change (YoY) | March 2020 | Change (MoM) |
| Sail | 801,000 | 1,185,000 | -32pc | 1,403,000 | -42.9pc |
| TSL | 422,000 | 1,077,000 | -61pc | 1,161,000 | -63.7pc |
| RINL | 243,000 | 415,000 | -41pc | 479,000 | -49.3pc |
| ESL+JSWL+JSPL | 1,076,000 | 2,521,000 | -57pc | 2,229,000 | -51.7pc |
| Other | 210,000 | 3,823,000 | -95pc | 2,766,000 | -92.4pc |
| Total production | 2,752,000 | 9,021,000 | -69.5pc | 8,038,000 | -65.7pc |
India’s total finished steel exports dipped by 16.9pc to 0.42mn mt in April from the prior year month. Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Middle east countries like UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia were the major importers of Indian finished steel. Other countries like China, Germany, Italy, Denmark and France also expressed interest in Indian finished steel, according to Davis Index sources.
India’s total finished steel imports fell by 34.3pc to 0.40mn mt in April compared to the prior year month.