Trade Cases
CRU: Imports cause concern in India and Vietnam
Written by CRU
July 25, 2024
High levels of steel imports, especially from China, in recent months are worrying steelmakers in India and Vietnam.
The volumes from China impacted steel prices in India from the latter half of May by softening sentiment at a time when long product prices were moderating ahead of the monsoon season, said Jayant Acharya, joint managing director and CEO of JSW Steel.
“Our main concern is imports from China and Asean countries at predatory prices,” the Business Standard newspaper quoted him as saying. “We have raised this concern. The Indian Steel Association continues to engage with the government to find solutions for appropriate trade measures that can be put up quickly.
“We are all aware that China has got a surplus of steel. Vietnam is adding to that problem. Even imports from Japan and South Korea have been elevated. India is basically a vulnerable ground because our domestic demand is very good.”
He also commented: “The Indian steel industry is adding a lot of capacity in anticipation of the economic growth in the country. The capex is heavy in nature. So, it is important for the industry to see that, at least, unfair trade coming into the country at predatory prices is not allowed.”
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is reviewing a request by domestic steelmakers for an antidumping (AD) investigation into hot-rolled coil steel products from China and India.
At almost 6 million metric tons (mt), the amount of HRC which came into the country in H1 was 173% higher than domestic production, Vietnamese media reported. The year-on-year increase was 32%. The main importer is China, with product also coming from India, Taiwan (China), South Korea, and Japan.
The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) places the country’s demand for HRC at 12-13 million mt per year with domestic capacity about 9 million mt per year.
This article was first published by CRU. To learn more about CRU’s steel services, visit www.crugroup.com/analysis/steel.
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