TEHRAN- Annual production of steel ingot in Iran is predicted to reach 28 million tons in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 19, 2020), according to Khodadad Gharibpour, the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).

Making the remarks during the annual general assembly meeting of Iranian Steel Producers Association on Tuesday, the official put the steel ingot output at 25 million tons in the past year, IRNA reported.

Today, Iranian steel industry is meeting most of its requirements relying on domestic capabilities and it is just a little dependent on the foreign resources, the official underlined.

As previously announced, Iran's steel production capacity is projected to reach around 40 million tons this year with crude steel production reaching between 25 and 27 million tons.

According to the World Steel Organization (WSO), Iran became the world’s tenth largest steel producer in 2018. The country is expected to become the world’s seventh biggest steel producer by 2021, reaching 55 million tons of steel capacity.

According to the WSO’s report, Iran produced 25 million tons of crude steel in 2018 which indicates 17.7 percent growth from 21.2 million tons in 2017.

Also, a recent report by the WSO says that production of crude steel in Iran rose 7.1 percent during the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period of time in 2018.

It is while crude steel production in the world increased 4.5 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The country’s crude steel production capacity will increase by 25 million tons within the next four years, according to a deputy director in IMIDRO.

Ardeshir Sa’d Mohammadi said that through such increase in crude steel output, the required feedstock for the plants will be properly supplied.

The official further lamented that of the 35 million tons of crude steel produced in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2019), 25 million tons were used in the production process.

MA/MA