Indian imports of steel fell 37.3 percent during the first six months of the current fiscal (April-September 2016) while exports were up 35.6 percent during the same period, according to a report of Joint Plant Committee (JPC) under Ministry of Steel, issued on Monday.
According to the report, in absolute terms, finished steel imports into the country during the six month period was estimated at 3.59 million mt while finished steel exports were estimated at 3.03 million mt.
JPC estimated that steel consumption in the country recorded a growth of 2.5 percent during the period at 40.56 million mt.
However industry sources said that the cause of concern is that steel consumption during September this year was pegged by JPC at 6.73 million mt which was down eight percent compared to the previous month, and a possible indication of impact of rising domestic prices of steel and fall in imports of cheaper steel into the country.