TEHRAN- Iran produced 18.648 million tons of crude steel in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 21), according to the data released by Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry.

The country’s eight-month crude steel output indicates a 3.1-percent drop as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Iran is planning to produce 32 million tons of steel in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 2022) to register a 27.7-percent rise compared to the figure for the previous year.

Based on the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry data, Iranian steel companies managed to produce 28.374 million tons of steel in the previous Iranian calendar year.

The ministry’s programs for the current year, which is called the year of “Production, Support and Eliminating Obstacles”, have been classified in seven main axes under which 40 plans have been defined.  

Boosting domestic production, managing imports and developing the export of non-oil commodities, developing mines and mineral industries with special emphasis on the mining roadmap, developing technology and knowledge-based products, managing market and organizing trade logistics, improving the country's business environment, and eliminating barriers ahead of the production process, as well as providing financial resources and developing investment are some of the ministry’s major plans for the current year.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, Iran exported over 4.937 million tons of steel during the first eight months of the current year, which was 22 percent more than the figure of the same period of time in the past year.

Khouzestan Steel Company posted the best performance through exporting 1.117 million tons of steel in the eight-month period, followed by Mobarakeh Steel Company and Esfahan Steel Company by exporting 814,724 tons and 766,630 tons, respectively.

Rebar produced by Khorasan Steel Company registered the highest export rise in the mentioned period, as 1,081 tons of the product was exported.

According to the Iranian Steel Producers Association (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.

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).

Based on the latest report released by the World Steel Association (WSA), Iran has maintained its place as the world’s 10th biggest steel producer during January-October, 2021.

Production of crude steel in Iran reached 22.4 million tons during the mentioned time span to register a 5.7-percent decline year on year, the report said.

MA/MA