Domestic stainless steel use grows 84% in 5 yrs to 4.8 MT in FY25: ISSDA

Domestic stainless steel consumption has registered a growth of 84 per cent over the last five years to reach 4.80 million tonnes in FY 2024-25, industry body Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) has said.

The demand has been driven by sectors like infrastructure, railways, airports, metros among others, ISSDA President Rajamani Krishnamurti said in a presentation at the ongoing Global Stainless Steel Expo (GSSE) 2025.

As per the data, in FY 2020-21 the consumption of stainless steel in India was at 2.61 million tonnes. It rose to 3.46 million tonnes (a rise of 33 per cent (y-o-y) in FY 2021-22.

The demand grew to 3.94 million tonnes in 2022-23 (14 per cent rise y-o-y) and touched 4.49 million tonnes mark in 2023-24 (14 per cent y-o-y) before reaching 4.80 million tonnes in the financial year ended March 31, 2025.

"The demand has been mainly on the back of strong growth in consumption from sectors such as building and construction, infrastructure projects, structural and rebar, process industry, railways and transports," Krishnamurti said.

The per capita steel consumption has grown 36 per cent in the last five fiscal years from 2.5 kg in FY21 to 3.4 kg in FY25, he said.

He further said that the demand for stainless steel will grow to 6.8 million tonnes by FY30, while per capita consumption is expected to be in the range of 4.5-5.5. kg by FY30.

Sharing his outlook for the sector, Krishnamurti said the regular demand, there are some new areas like green hydrogen, bio fuels and renewable energy, urban infra and smart cities and tunnels.

Around 10,000 industry leaders, policy makers and experts from India and abroad, as well as government representatives, are attending the three-day event.