Some traders continue to look for alternative buyers for Indian steel billet cargoes outside of the Chinese market amid problems shipping from India to China, sources told Fastmarkets.
High Covid-19 cases in India have
threatened to choke the export business from India's east coast amid rising freight rates and cases of Indian vessel rejections at Chinese ports, sources said.
Traders continued to book Indian steel billet cargoes to sell into China during early May, but some are now facing difficulties when it comes to delivery, sources said.
Traders face problems getting vessels from India to ChinaRise in cargoes originally sold to China being offered to other Asian marketsRow at Gangavaram Port threatens to delay steel exportsIn the last month, Fastmarkets heard that at least one billet cargo for Indian 3sp 150mm blast furnace (BF) billet - originally planned for sale into China - was cancelled because freight costs on the India-China route had ballooned to levels that would wipe out the trader margin.
Another Indian steel billet cargo successfully set sail for China, only to...