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The latest provisional data from the Joint Factory Board of India shows that India's imports of finished wood-based panels fell by 34.6% year-on-year in the first five months of fiscal year 2025–26 (April–August). BM steel, This downward trend reflects the country's continued tightening of import regulations, particularly the effectiveness of safeguard duties.
During the period, India's total imports of sheet metal amounted to 2.32 million tons, accounting for approximately 92.4% of the total imports of finished steel products, which totaled 2.51 million tons.
The decline in imports is primarily attributed to India's imposition of a 12% safeguard duty on imported alloy and non-alloy steel sheets, effective April 21 for a period of 200 days. BM steel, This policy may be extended, and the Indian Directorate General of Trade Remedies recommended on August 16 that safeguard duties be imposed on the relevant products for a period of three years.
Mumbai traders pointed out that while imports have decreased since the implementation of the safeguard duty, domestic demand remains weak and supply levels remain high, putting continued pressure on the market. Therefore, although the contraction in imports has provided some support to the market, a genuine recovery in domestic demand and export growth are needed to truly alleviate the oversupply.
On the other hand, due to the low base effect of the same period last year (exports volume decreased by 39.6% in the same period of 2024), India's finished steel exports increased by 16.2% year-on-year in the first five months of this fiscal year, reaching 2.23 million tons.
According to data from the Joint Plant Committee cited in the Indian Ministry of Steel's monthly report to the Cabinet, imports of hot-rolled coil/strip, the largest importer, decreased by 52.9% year-on-year to 758,500 tons in the first five months. Cold-rolled coil/sheet imports were second at 474,900 tons, down 21.7% year-on-year. Galvanized sheet/coil imports were third at 391,100 tons, down 24.4%; steel plate imports decreased by 38.5% during the same period to 279,700 tons.
The Ministry of Steel noted that in the first five months of fiscal year 2026, India was a net importer of steel, with imports exceeding exports by 280,000 tons. BM steel, The ministry also stated that compared to August 2024, the share of India's total steel imports from major sources such as China, Taiwan, and Germany decreased in August 2025, while the share from South Korea, Japan, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Italy increased.
Specifically, in August, China's share of India's steel imports fell to 18.8% from 33.5% in the same period last year, Germany's fell to 0.9% from 1.8%, and Taiwan's fell sharply to 3.3% from 18.6%.
