India’s imports of iron ore and pellets rose nearly 149% over the past three years, highlighting growing raw-material requirements and supply pressures faced by the domestic steel industry.
According to data presented by the Ministry of Steel in the Lok Sabha, iron ore and pellet imports increased from 4.9 million tonnes to 12.2 million tonnes during the three-year period.
The sharp increase comes as steelmakers face higher input and logistics costs, fuel shortages and constraints in the availability of key raw materials. The government said these factors have affected the steel sector and contributed to increased dependence on imported materials.
Coking coal imports also increased during the period, rising from 58 million tonnes to 66 million tonnes, an increase of about 13.8%. In contrast, ferrous scrap imports declined by nearly 19% from 9.5 million tonnes to 7.7 million tonnes.
The rise in iron ore imports reflects strong domestic steel demand as well as the need for specific grades and qualities of ore that may not be sufficiently available from domestic sources. Industry data also indicates that India’s iron ore and pellet imports reached a seven-year high in FY26.
Despite raw-material and supply-chain challenges, India’s steel production continued to expand. Crude steel output in May 2026 increased 1.4% year-on-year, while finished steel production rose 5.9% compared with May 2025, according to the Ministry of Steel.
The government has been taking measures to address fuel shortages, rising input and logistics costs, raw-material availability and broader supply-chain constraints affecting the steel sector.
The continued increase in iron ore imports underscores the challenge of matching India’s rapidly expanding steelmaking capacity with reliable and cost-effective domestic supplies of key raw materials.
