Speaking at the SteelOrbis Fall 2025 Conference & 93rd IREPAS Meeting in Munich, Anastasiia Kononenko, head of Asia market intelligence at SteelOrbis, highlighted a robust consumption outlook for both India and ASEAN despite challenges in global trade.
India recorded 13.5 million mt of finished steel consumption in August, exceeding expectations, while production stood at 13.4 million mt. For FY 2024–25, finished steel consumption grew 11.5 percent, with forecasts of 6 percent annual growth through 2030, adding 43 million mt in new demand.
Although 50 percent US tariffs on steel imports have limited impact on India’s market, the country faces pressure from the EU’s CBAM. Meanwhile, India has also introduced a 12 percent safeguard duty on flat steel imports, reducing volumes significantly and strengthening its domestic market.
In the ASEAN region, steel demand grew by just under 5 percent in 2024, but remains below 2018–2019 levels. For 2025, growth is expected at 2–3 percent, supported by private construction and infrastructure. However, rising capacity — such as Hoa Phat doubling its Vietnamese capacity to 12 million mt and Dexin Steel in Indonesia expanding to 10 million mt — means that production is outpacing demand.
VietnamSteel by Hoa Sen Group
