India’s iron ore imports hit six-year high

India’s iron ore imports hit a six-year high this year as steel mills stepped up overseas purchases to overcome shortages of high-grade ore and take advantage of lower global prices for the steelmaking raw material, analysts said. Imports more than doubled to over 10 million metric tons in the first 10 months of 2025 from a year earlier, according to Lalit Ladkat, a senior analyst at London-headquartered CRU Group. Between January and October, JSW Steel, the country’s biggest steelmaker by capacity, emerged as the top buyer of iron ore from overseas suppliers. Average imports during 2019-2024 were 4.3 million metric tons a year. Imports may exceed 11-12 million metric tons in FY26 and could remain elevated next year as well if domestic production or captive sourcing does not improve, as per a report.

Please visit our youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ikargos2719 for fortnightly logistics news analysis and more!