TEHRAN - Iran’s crude steel exports are expected to reach a record high of 8 million tons by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2018).

Head of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), Mehdi Karbasian, said the country exported 3.5 million tons of crude steel during the first half of the current year, IRIB reported on Sunday.

“Following this trend, the figure could most probably reach 8 million tons by year-end,” he added.

The country aims to increase total crude steel output to 55 million tons and export between 20 and 25 million tons annually by the end of the 2025 Outlook Plan.

As a major steel producer in the region, Iran has boosted steel production in recent years, as central Isfahan and southwestern Khuzestan provinces remain the major steel producers.

EF/MG