According to a Reuters report, global mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto have singled out India as a key long-term growing market for iron ore and metallurgical coal, as slowing steel demand in China increasingly pushes the global steel industry towards South Asia and Southeast Asia, according to a Reuters report.
Speaking at the Singapore International Iron and Steel Week, Michiel Hovers, Director of Sales and Marketing at BHP Group, said that Indian steel companies are expanding. aggressively, noting that many BHP customers in India are doubling capacity. He added that India remains in the early stages of steel consumption growth, driven by rapid urbanization, infrastructure investment and the addition of new capacity.
India, already the second largest steel producer in the world, aims to significantly increase steel production in the coming years, with targets ranging from 300 million tons by 2031 to 400 million tons by 2035-36, compared with the current output of about 168 million tons. Although this figure is still well below China's nearly 1 billion tons of annual steel production, the expansion is expected to require significant additional volumes of iron ore and metallurgical coal, the latter of which India mainly imports.
Rio Tinto Commercial Director Bold Baatar also stressed that rising demand from India and the ASEAN countries is expected to help offset stagnation in China, where the prolonged downturn in the real estate sector continues to put pressure on steel consumption. According to Baatar, the global iron ore market will need about 950 million tons of new capacity over the next decade, both to meet new demand and to replace dwindling mine production.
Meanwhile, Chinese steel demand is expected to continue to decline this year, and Chinese steel production has fallen to a seven-year low in 2025. This has increased pressure on the main iron ore suppliers, who also face tougher negotiations with China Mineral Resources Group, as the state-backed iron ore buyer seeks to improve conditions for domestic steelmakers
