In January-April this year, India imported about 2.88 million tons of iron ore (fines and pellets), up 76% year-on-year. This is reported by Kallanish with reference to trade data.
The largest volumes of iron ore for the period came from Oman and Australia, and JSW Steel became the largest importer. Despite having iron ore reserves in the eastern and southern parts of the country, the company is believed to be supplying raw materials from Oman to supply its plants in Maharashtra. The market notes that JSW Steel began turning to foreign suppliers at the end of last year amid disruptions in domestic supplies. The long monsoon season led to a supply shortage at the end of 2024.
In the 2024/2025 fiscal year (ending in April 2025), India increased iron ore production by 4.3% year-on-year to 289 million tons. This figure is a historic high, surpassing the previous record set in FY2023/2024 (277 million tons).
In FY2024/2025, India increased its production of iron ore pellets to 105 million tons, up 5% year-on-year. Despite a slowdown in the second half of the year, the growth was driven by stable steel production, increased use of pellets in blast furnaces and expansion of domestic capacity. According to BigMint, the country’s total design capacity for pellets increased to 164 million tons per year (148 million tons in the previous fiscal year).