India

The domestic market is continuing to see steady stainless steel production but prices remain volatile, driven by demand variations and LME fluctuations.

Most mills are now focusing strongly on procurement of domestic supplies of recycled stainless steel in response to: volatility on the LME and in the rupee/US dollar exchange rate; longer lead times owing to the Iran conflict and other geopolitical issues; and higher container freight costs, especially from the Far East and South East Asia. In various regional hubs of northern, central and western India, there are established recyclers/processors who are catering to mills’ requirements on a spot, door-delivery basis with payment on credit terms.

It should be added, however, that domestic supply remains insufficient and that mills still need to look at imported sources of recycled stainless steel. Prices have followed LME movements and mills have paid top dollar to secure material. The mills are also watching their inventories closely and are no longer keeping them any higher than they need to be. In addition, they are becoming more quality-cautious and are engaging in dialogues with suppliers to ensure steady supply of recycled materials.

Demand for high-nickel alloys remains robust across the mills.

The Quality Control Order against imports was temporarily exempted by the Indian government in April, facilitating imports of a few grades of finished stainless products.

In April, Chinese-made products totalled 101,252 tonnes for a 65% increase over March.

However, micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) have now raised concerns about the steep rise in imports of finished stainless steel products and are asking the government to roll back this exemption.