TEHRAN- Production of steel products in Iran hit over 7.265 million tons during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21), which was three percent higher than the figure of the same period of time in the past year.

Production of the mentioned products also rose nine percent in the sixth month of this year, from that of the previous year.

Over 1.251 million tons of steel products were produced in the sixth month of the present year.

In a bid to prevent the exports of unprocessed minerals, creating more value-added and meeting the requirements of domestic producers for the raw materials, Iran has levied a 25-percent duty on the exports of raw minerals (especially iron ore) since late September 2019.

Industry Ministry believes that the duty is going to encourage the production of more processed minerals such as pellets and concentrate instead of selling the raw minerals.

As the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) has announced, Iran’s annual steel ingot production is planned to increase 3.2 million tons in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021).

The country has defined 16 development projects in the steel sector to boost the output of steel products by 17.3 million tons in five years.

MA/MA