India's 2023 bitumen imports surge 31% on year as demand set to grow

India's bitumen imports surged 31% year on year in calendar year 2023, buoyed by growing demand, latest provisional data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed, while market sources expected the demand trajectory and thus the country's dependence on imports to trend up in coming years.

India imported a total 3.42 million mt of bitumen during January-December 2023, compared with 2.61 million mt in the corresponding period in 2022 and 2.66 million mt in 2021, the official PPAC data compiled by S&P Global Commodity Insights showed.

The December bitumen imports stood at 287,000 mt, up 1% both on a month-on-month and year-on-year basis, the PPAC data showed.

India, which always has a bitumen deficit, primarily imports the supplies from the Middle Eastern countries including Iran, Bahrain and the UAE. The country's peak demand season runs between November and June, after which monsoons tends to dampen consumption, according to local trade sources.

The South Asian country's overall bitumen demand stood at 8.9 million mt in 2023, up about 10% from 8.1 million mt in 2022, while monthly bitumen consumption averaged 739,000 mt in 2023, up from a monthly average of 671,000 mt in the preceding calendar year, according to PPAC data. India's financial year runs from April to March.

Meanwhile, India's bitumen production stood at 5.13 million mt in 2023, unchanged from 2022, the official PPAC data showed.

"Indian [bitumen] demand, not to be mistaken with sales, is roughly around 10 million mt, whereas production ... is about 5.2 million-5.3 million mt. So, there's always a shortfall," a Mumbai-based trade source said, adding that even with the imports, the demand deficit could only be partially met.

There is a persistent shortfall in bitumen supplies, especially in states that have no refineries or those that have refineries but do not produce bitumen, he added.

There is currently good demand for bitumen in India and that would likely continue to grow in coming years on the back of the country's aggressive push for construction of new roads and extended highways, sources said.

In the Southeast Asian bitumen market, Singapore's bitumen exports soared 76.1% on the week to 53,046 mt in the week ended Jan. 24, according to latest data from Enterprise Singapore, S&P Global reported earlier.

The city-state exported 15,545 mt of bitumen to China in the week to Jan. 24, more than double compared with the preceding week, while exports to Malaysia skyrocketed 95% on the week to 9,308 mt, the data showed.

Platts assessed the FOB Singapore bitumen cargo price at $435/mt Jan. 30, unchanged on the day. The PEN 60-70 grade FOB Singapore bitumen price has averaged $439.93/mt so far in January, compared with an average of $462.30/mt in December, S&P Global data showed.