TEHRAN- Iran exported over 5.912 million tons of steel during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-October 22), which was 30 percent more than the figure of the same period of time in the past year.

Based on the latest data released by the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA), of the mentioned figure 1.486 million tons was the share of steel profiles which also registered a 44-percent rise year on year, IRNA reported.

Exports of rebar, which had the largest share of total exports of steel products, in the first seven months of this year increased by 57 percent compared to the same period last year to reach 1.307 million tons.

Exports of flat steel sections also increased by 18 percent during the said period to stand at 369,000 tons. Also, the export of sponge iron during the mentioned period increased by 279 percent to reach 698,000 tons.

According to ISPA, Iranian exports of steel during the previous Iranian calendar year declined 13.1 percent compared to the figure for the preceding year.

Based on the association’s data, the country exported nine million tons of steel in the previous year while the exports in that year stood at 10.362 million tons.

Over 2.839 million tons of steel products were also exported in the mentioned year, registering an 18-percent decline year on year.

The Iranian Steel industry has been constantly developing over the past years against all the pressures and obstacles created by outside forces like the U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus outbreak that has severely affected the performance of the world’s top producers.

The country is expected to climb to seventh place among the world’s top steel producers by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025).

The production capacity of the country's steel chain increased from 123 million tons in the Iranian calendar year 1392 (ended in March 2014) to 230 million tons in the previous year (ended on March 20).

According to the latest World Steel Association (WSA) report released in early September, the production of crude steel in Iran reached 17.8 million tons during January-July, 2021 to register a 9.9 percent growth year on year.

The WSA’s report put the crude steel output by the world’s top 64 producers at 1.165 billion tons in the mentioned time span, registering an increase of 12.4 percent.

EF/MA