According to customs data, India imported 1.11 million mt of iron ore in September for a total H1 Indian import level of 7.52 million mt. The H1 period in fiscal year 2019 includes April through September. The H1 iron ore import volume is 87 percent of India’s iron ore import volume of 8.6 million mt for the full 12-month period in FY 2018 that ended in March 2018.
The H1 FY 2019 Indian iron ore import level is 293 percent higher than the 2.57 million mt India imported in the same 6-month period the previous year.
JSW Steel’s iron ore imports of 5.87 million mt account for 78 percent of the H1 imports in the period. Essar Steel reportedly imported 0.28 million mt (4 percent), Kamachi Group imported 0.26 million mt (3 percent), Jindal SAW imported 0.25 million mt (3 percent), MonoSteel imported 0.17 million mt (2 percent), Goa Sponge & Power imported 0.17 million mt (2 percent), SAL Steel imported 0.15 million mt (2 percent), and others imported 0.36 million mt (5 percent).