India's Finished Steel Exports To Vietnam Surge In 2022, Will Likely Fall

25 May 2022

India is among the largest exporters of finished steel in the world, as per global trade data. It is mostly ranked among the top 5 exporting countries for finished steel. There are varieties of India’s finished steel exports to other countries which include bars & strips, plates, tin-free steel, tip plates, and galvanized pipes. Among the exports of the aforementioned finished steel, the highest and most valuable export of finished steel from India is hot-rolled coils/strips (HRC). While India exports cold-rolled coils (CRC) as well, the exports of HRCs are higher and are in demand from other countries. As per recent reports, the demand for HRC from its highest import market, Vietnam, fell.

India’s Finished Steel Exports, 2021

The total amount of India’s finished steel exports for HRC amounted to $5.4 billion in the year 2021. On the other hand, the total amount of exports for CRC amounted to $1.2 billion for 2021. Evidently, as aforementioned, the exports of hot-rolled steel are relatively higher than cold-rolled steel from India to other countries.

Vietnam imported about $1.2 billion of hot rolled steel from India for the ending year of 2021. While, on the other hand, the total exports from India to Vietnam for cold-rolled steel amounted to barely $337k for the same period. It is clear that demand for hot-rolled steel exists higher than for cold-rolled steel in Vietnam from India.

India’s Hot-Rolled Steel Exports, 2021

The highest exports of hot-rolled steel from India to other countries accounted for $1.2 billion in Vietnam in 2021, as aforementioned.

India exports the highest amount of hot-rolled steel to Vietnam (23.3%), the UAE (15.1%), Italy (12.5%), Turkey (8.8%), Belgium (5.9%), Nepal (4.6%), South Africa (4.3%), Spain (3.3%), Switzerland (2.2%), and Saudi Arabia (2.2%).

Vietnam Imports From India – By Year

Vietnam imports for India’s hot-rolled steel are shown below, as per Vietnam import data. The represented data features the total value of imports accounted for each year in Vietnam from India. The imports of hot-rolled steel in Vietnam from India were the highest in the year 2021 with an export value of $1.2 billion. Following 2019, the imports each year are in the range of billion and increasing.

This shows that imports of India’s hot-rolled steel to Vietnam have not declined, rather it is the opposite. The imports in Vietnam for 2021 were the highest following the year 2019. There has been a minor fluctuation in 2018 only.

Vietnam Imports From India – YoY Comparison

The values for exported hot-rolled steel in Vietnam from India have increased in 2022. Vietnam has imported a total worth of $272.7 million of hot-rolled steel from India so far (till April). Imports increased by 12.09% in 2022 as compared to 2021.

The imports in Vietnam from India didn’t decline in 2022 as well. However, as per recent reports, the reason for Vietnam’s low demand for India’s hot-rolled steel is being speculated to be the new wave of the pandemic lurking over Vietnam’s export market—China.

Vietnam converts hot-rolled steel into galvanized steel and exports it into the markets of China the most. The lockdown measures imposed by Chinese authorities have resulted in the disruption of Vietnam to export, and hence, the demand for imported steel is likely to go down.