Three years on, India warms up to Russian steel imports

The shift comes in the backdrop of India deepening its trade ties with Russia

- Abhishek Law

After a gap of about three years, Russia is back among India’s top five markets for steel, as Western sanctions force Moscow to reroute exports to Asia. The discounted shipments underscore the stress on Russian exports and India's rising demand for electrical steel used in transformers and electric motors.

India imported the highest quantum of electrical sheets—a kind of speciality steel—from China, followed by Russia, for the six months ended September, steel ministry data showed. India made most of the payments through the dollar mechanism, but market participants told Mint that some rupee-rouble trade was also taking place.

India bought around 50,300 tonnes of speciality steel, or 40% of its total finished steel imports, from Russia over the six months. Total finished steel imports from Russia were at 127,800 tonnes, making it India’s fourth-largest source of steel imports.