[India Extends Export-Risk Support as UAE Remains Major Steel Export Market]

Published: Oct 05, 2026 14:37 (GMT+8)

Save

India has extended enhanced export-credit insurance support for shipments to West Asia until March 31, 2027, providing continued risk protection for exporters as the UAE remains one of the country's largest finished-steel export markets.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade extended the eligibility timeline under Component II of the Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation (RELIEF), citing continued geopolitical disruptions and their impact on maritime logistics across the Gulf and adjoining regions.

The extension is relevant to India's steel trade with the region. Ministry of Steel data sourced from the Joint Plant Committee show that India exported 2.986 million tonnes of finished steel during April-August 2026, up 34.1% year on year. The UAE received 389,200 tonnes, accounting for 13.0% of India's total finished-steel exports and ranking as the country's second-largest export destination after Vietnam.

The UAE's importance was even greater earlier in the financial year. It was India's largest finished-steel export destination during April-June, receiving 249,000 tonnes, or 15.6% of total exports. Cumulative shipments to the UAE increased to 339,600 tonnes during April-July before reaching 389,200 tonnes by the end of August.

RELIEF covers consignments destined for or transshipped through specified West Asian markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, among others. Under Component II, eligible exporters obtaining ECGC cover can receive risk coverage of up to 95%, while premiums are prevented from increasing beyond pre-disruption levels during the eligible period.

The government said the intervention responds to extraordinary freight escalation, higher insurance premiums and war-related export risks caused by disruptions in the Gulf and wider West Asian maritime corridor.

For the steel sector, the measure can help limit payment and insurance risks for eligible shipments to a region that has become an important outlet for Indian finished steel. However, the support should not be interpreted as applying to all Indian steel exports to West Asia. Component II specifically covers Full Container Load and Less than Container Load cargo, along with reefer containers, meaning its direct applicability is strongest for eligible containerised steel shipments rather than conventional bulk or breakbulk cargoes.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or for more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

9 mins ago

[SMM Steel] Turkish Steel Pressured: Longs Plunge on Trader Liquidation While Flats Stall Awaiting Quota Reset

[Turkey] The Turkish steel market operated under broad downward pressure last week. In the long products segment, aggressive discounting by traders liquidating stock for cash forced domestic mills to follow suit, pushing rebar ex-works prices down by 5 USD/tonne to 620 USD/tonne EXW (excluding VAT). By region, traders in Izmir cut offers to 610–615 USD/tonne EXW, prompting a major local producer to track the drop by cutting 10 USD/tonne to 615 USD/tonne EXW; mills across Iskenderun and Marmara similarly marked down offers by 5–10 USD/tonne. While low-cost positions built earlier allow traders to remain profitable despite price cuts, rising construction project costs and the simmering domestic investment fund crisis have heightened market anxieties over an accelerated seasonal demand slowdown. On the export side, rebar FOB export prices held flat at 615 USD/tonne FOB amid sluggish liquidity. In the flat steel sector, following waves of concentrated order bookings over the preceding two to three weeks, domestic procurement ground to a halt, fueling market expectations that hot-rolled coil (HRC) may follow longs into a downward cycle. Although domestic HRC ex-works prices held nominally flat at 620 USD/tonne EXW, actual transactions were essentially frozen. On the export front, the market remained tightly focused on the reopening of the EU's Q4 import safeguard quotas; with 271,000 tonnes of Turkish HRC currently awaiting clearance, quota exhaustion risks pressured export prices down by 5 USD/tonne to 610 USD/tonne FOB. Meanwhile, imported HRC held steady at 555 USD/tonne CFR, seeing negligible transaction activity amid Chinese holiday closures and alternative origins being either sidelined or aggressively priced.

9 mins ago

11 mins ago

[SMM Steel] Iranian Flat Steel Exports Chill: Plunging Rial and Shipping Snarls Stall Slab Trades as HRC Mutes

[Iran] Iranian flat steel exports were broadly constrained last week, weighed down by the sharp depreciation of the rial and persistent logistical bottlenecks. Extreme currency volatility further exacerbated the wait-and-see sentiment among both buyers and sellers. In the slab segment, no concrete export transactions were recorded; Asian buyers largely shunned Iranian cargoes due to logistical uncertainties and US sanctions risks. Although one mill floated a tender at Bandar Abbas for 30,000–50,000 tonnes of November-loading material, elevated freight rates and vessel shortages mean the final buyers will likely be confined to neighboring countries. For hot-rolled coil (HRC), overall trading remained muted, with border exports mostly dedicated to fulfilling prior order backlogs. While September HRC deliveries to Iraq held at 540–560 USD/tonne FCA border crossings, Iraqi buyers' acceptance of higher-priced Iranian material has become noticeably restricted.

11 mins ago

12 mins ago

[SMM Steel] European HRC: Downstream Pricing Squeezes Margins as Weak Demand Curbs Mill Hikes

[Europe] Persistently low downstream finished steel prices continue to exert downward pressure on the EU hot-rolled coil (HRC) market, capping mills' ability to push offers higher; consequently, ex-works prices across both Northwest Europe and Italy held flat. EU steel service centers frankly noted that the meager profits generated from procuring high-priced HRC fail entirely to cover their processing and daily operating costs. Downstream pipe manufacturers also reported sluggish trading, stating that weak end-user demand cannot support finished product price hikes, with their target buying prices for fresh HRC bookings sitting well below current mill quotes. On the import front, while Turkish quotas are trending toward exhaustion, carryover volumes could still provide some clearance room. HRC import prices currently hover around 705 USD/tonne CIF; however, quota restrictions, CBAM compliance costs, and fierce competition among Turkish suppliers have cast considerable uncertainty over forward orders for 2027. On the supply side, Italy's ADI is currently fulfilling existing contracts only and has paused accepting new orders. Notably, the recent retreat of the euro against the dollar has inflated the USD-denominated cost of imported material, indirectly providing a level of support for domestic European steel prices.

12 mins ago