With China’s massive construction
sector still struggling and the US and Europe probably heading into recessions, India has emerged as a saviour for
flagging global steel demand.
Poised to overtake China as the world’s most populous
country next year, India is in the middle of a building boom. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is seeking to modernise roads, rail networks and ports in an attempt to
vie with China as a manufacturing centre.
That is set to translate into a 6.7 per cent jump in
steel demand to about 120 million tonnes in 2023, according to the World Steel
Association, the highest growth among major economies.
India, which also had a similar expansion this year,
overtook the US to become the world’s No 2 steel consumer after China a couple
of years ago.
READ MORE
India
steels itself for expansion
Indian
economy grew 8.7% in last fiscal year to surpass pre-Covid levels, IMF says
India:
Scrapping of export duty on iron ore pellets to help steel and mining firms
“The nation-building phase of any economy requires a lot
of steel and commodities,” said Jayant Acharya, deputy managing director at JSW
Steel, the nation’s biggest producer.
India is going through that phase in this decade, and it
could boost the country’s steel consumption to more than 200 million tonnes by
2030, he said.
The buoyant outlook has set off a flurry of
activity. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, a joint venture between India’s
Mittal family and the Japanese producer, has plans to more than triple capacity
to 30 million tonnes in the coming decade.
South Korean steel maker Posco Holdings and Indian tycoon
Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest person, are also exploring plans to set up mills
in the country.
India produces the vast majority of
the steel it uses but it is also being forced to import more to meet the surge
in demand.
Inward shipments rose by 15 per cent in April through to
October, from a year earlier, to 3.1 million tonnes, according to government
figures.
Local producers are becoming worried about the flood of
cheap imports as demand dries up in traditional steel producers.