Indonesia sees increasing demand for imported steel, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

Jakarta - Chairman of the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association (IISIA) Purwono Widodo on November 7 said that the Southeast Asian country’s steel demand surges in 2023 due to the construction of major national projects.

The official said that the country’s steel consumption in 2023 is likely to reach 17.9 million tonnes, an increase of 5% compared to 2022. Meanwhile, its steel production capacity in the year is just about 14.4 million tonnes. Therefore, the country needs to import about 14% for HS72 steel products.

Purwono said that Indonesia mostly imports raw materials to serve the manufacturing industry. According to IISIA data, the volume of imported steel in Indonesia in the period from 2018 to 2022 saw many fluctuations due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, imports increased steadily, reaching 19 million tonnes in 2019. This figure fell sharply in 2022 to 14.1 million tonnes before increasing again in 2021 and 2022 to 15.6 million tonnes and 16.8 million tonnes, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2023, the country’s steel import volume rose 7.7% year on year or equivalent to 3.8 million tonnes. However, it dropped 22% from 4.045 million USD in 2022 to 3.154 million USD in the first quarter of 2023.