By Sohrab Darabshaw
For Indian steel producers, 2019 was an unremarkable year.
Like some of the previous years, the steel sector slumped throughout the year, save for the last two months.
Globally and domestically, the steel industry witnessed a steep price fall not seen in the past three years. For example, prices of hot-rolled coil steel fell for 21 straight weeks; only toward the end of 2019 did some steel companies raise the price of steel products.
Rising steel imports, drop in coking coal imports
Production-wise, Indian steelmakers continued to face the challenge