India aims to fill the steel supply gap in Europe created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Indian Steel Association secretary general Alok Sahay tells Kallanish in an exclusive interview.

The war in Ukraine has impacted steel supply from the CIS region, which will ultimately benefit Indian and Turkish exporters. “Both Russia and Ukraine are net exporters of steel, cumulatively [exporting] around 40 million tonnes, which will affect international steel availability; however, this gap will be filled by other countries. Indian steel companies will try to fill the supply gap as much as possible,” Sahay says.

“Post Covid, India’s exports of steel have increased significantly and it is expected to remain at an elevated level; however, meeting domestic demand remains the first priority of the domestic steel industry. We also understand that the EU has redistributed Russia/Belarus TRQs to India and Turkey,” the secretary general adds.

Owing to supply disruption in Australia, coking coal prices have surged dramatically. To ease the supply issues, India is working on a payment mechanism to import coal from Russia, India’s steel ministry recently informed.

“The prices for coking coal have risen exponentially over the past one year and are impacting the cost of steel production globally. There is a need to find alternate sources and also augment domestic production of coking coal. The Ministry of Steel, Government of India is working towards raw material security and Atmanirbharta [self-reliance],” Sahay adds.

The crisis has, however, hampered the Indian stainless steel industry. According to Sahay, India annually exports $200 million worth of stainless steel to Russia, but there is now uncertainty about these exports and payment channels. Container ships stuck in the warzone may be a cause of concern for logistics, he adds.

Likewise, Indian stainless steelmaking is being impacted by dramatically high nickel prices. “Russia, being one of the larger nickel producers, may impact its [nickel's] availability and prices in the world, which have already reached very elevated levels,” Sahay concludes.