[Vedanta Iron & Steel Q2 Saleable Steel Output Rises 4% YoY Despite Furnace Maintenance]

India’s steel ministry is unlikely to introduce new measures to curb cheap steel imports in the near term, despite requests from domestic steelmakers to raise import protection, according to a government source. India imported around 3.5 million tonnes of finished steel during April-August, up 29.5% year on year, with China accounting for 31.8% of total imports. A petition has reportedly sought an increase in the safeguard duty from the current 11.5% to above 20%, but the government is not considering a hike at present as domestic steel prices are already high. India had introduced safeguard duties on some steel products in December 2025 and also started an anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled steel imports from China, Japan and Russia in June. Meanwhile, domestic steel prices have increased in recent weeks due to higher coking coal costs and stronger demand after the monsoon, with infrastructure and automotive demand showing improvement. Higher imports remain a key risk to domestic mills’ margins if import competition strengthens further.

Industry associations representing MSMEs in Coimbatore have urged the Indian government to temporarily withdraw applicable import and safeguard duties on steel for six months until March 2027, citing sharp increases in raw-material prices and constrained availability. In a joint representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the associations said market steel prices increased by around 8,000-10,000 INR/tonne between August and September. The industry bodies also sought a six-month deferment of applicable BIS and Quality Control Order requirements for imported steel, the creation of a steel Price Monitoring Committee and the establishment of a SAIL depot in Coimbatore to improve steel availability. No government decision on the proposals has been announced.

Shyam Metalics and Energy's carbon-steel flat-product sales increased 164.4% year on year to 31,742 tonnes in September 2026, according to the company's latest monthly business update. Sales of metallics, including pellets, sponge iron and pig iron, increased 54.9% year on year to 314,238 tonnes, while stainless-steel sales rose 35.1% to 9,778 tonnes. Carbon-steel long-product sales, comprising billets and long products, declined 8.4% year on year to 135,963 tonnes. During Q2 FY27, flat-steel sales increased 64.5% quarter on quarter to 81,493 tonnes, while metallics sales rose 11.1% to 943,020 tonnes.