Posted on 17 Jan 2025
Indian hot rolled coil exports rose 20.8% month-on-month to 98,018 tonnes in December, according to Cybex customs data accessed by Kallanish. This is the second consecutive on-month rise.
November exports rose 12.6% m-o-m to 81,117t (see Kallanish passim).
The data covers HS codes with a heading of 7208. The most traded codes are 720837, 720838 and 720839. These include HR carbon steel coil and sheets of 10mm thickness and over 600mm width, and HRC coil and sheet, excluding stainless products.
Nepal, Saudi Arabia and the UK were the top three HRC export destinations in December. In November, these had been Nepal, the UK and United Arab Emirates.
Nepal received 32,734t in December, up by 6.2% m-o-m. Tata Steel was the largest supplier, delivering 19,535t, up by 113.5% m-o-m. The main consignees were Everest Bank and Citizens Bank.
Jindal Steel Odisha delivered 4,649t. The main consignees were Global Ime Bank and Himalayan Bank.
Jogbani, Berhni, Nepalgunj, Raxaul Road and Sonauli were the main shipping ports in India, while Kathmandu, Bhairawa, Birgunj, Biratnagar and Krishnanagar were the main Nepali destination ports.
Overall shipments to Asia rose by 4.9% m-o-m to 33,539t.
As per sources, Nepal and neighbouring countries in South Asia are expected to remain a key exporting region in the near term. This is mainly driven by India looking to export amid soft domestic demand and weak exports to Europe amid anti-dumping risks. India also faces stiff price competition from China in the Gulf Cooperation Council and other Southeast Asian markets.
Saudi Arabia was the second-largest destination in December, receiving 26,471t. JSW Steel was the biggest supplier, supplying 26,414t. Cargill Trading was the main consignee.
Goa, Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) and Mumbai were the main Indian ports of origin, while Dammam was the main Saudi Arabian destination port.
Overall shipments to the Middle East totalled 38,944t, up 62% m-o-m.
As per sources, Indian exporters saw increased trading in December due to shorter lead times in the GCC region. However, they continue to face price competition from China in the market.
The UK, the third-largest destination, received 24,448t of Indian product in December, all of which went to Tata Steel. MUFG Bank was the main consignee.
Paradeep port was the sole shipping port in India, while Newport was the sole UK destination port.
Overall shipments to Europe, which includes the UK, totalled 24,472t, up 1.9% m-o-m.
Indian HRC exports to the EU, not including the UK, have continued to be very weak as buyers are reluctant to potentially incur retroactive duties amid the bloc’s anti-dumping probe. European buying sentiment also remained soft due to weak macro factors. EU buyers have increasingly opted to buy domestic HRC as it was on par or cheaper than imported prices, carried lower risk and had shorter lead times (see Kallanish passim).
Source:Kallanish
