TEHRAN- Over 6.768 million tons of steel products was produced in Iran during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 21), IRNA reported.

As reported, the six-month output indicates a nine-percent fall as compared to the figure for the same period of time in the past year, which was a result of constant power outages in the country.

After the withdrawal of the United States from Iran’s nuclear deal, the Islamic Republic has faced sanctions in various industries, including steel sector.

The United States has sanctioned entities and individuals associated with Iran’s steel industry.

In early January, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added twelve Iranian producers of steel and other metal products to the list of sanctions.

However, at that time, the U.S. experts said that the Islamic Republic of Iran had resisted the so-called U.S. maximum pressure policy for the past three years, and the Trump administration had failed to achieve any of its goals in the face of sanctions against Iran.

Also, those active in Iran’s steel sector believed that sanctions against Iran which were in place for 40 years had nothing to do with the Iranian industry.

For example, referring to Iran's success in steel production in the country, the vice president of the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA) stated: “Iran is one of the 10 top steel producing countries in the world and no doubt U.S. sanctions will not take special action against Iran's steel industry at this stage.”

“Iran's ranking among the top 10 steel producers in the world shows that the decline of Iran's position among steel producing countries will not be easy”, Bahador Ehramian noted.

And now, it’s proven based on the repots and statistics released by the international bodies and also the Iranian sources that Iran’s strong steel sector cannot be hit by the sanctions.

Based on the Iranian Steel Producers Association’s data, Iranian steel companies managed to produce 30.2 million tons of steel in the previous Iranian calendar year, registering a three-percent annual growth.

And according to the latest report released by the World Steel Association (WSA), 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.

Iran’s monthly crude steel output stood at 2.6 million tons in July 2021, rising nine percent compared to the figure for July 2020, the WSA’s report also indicated.

The Islamic Republic maintained its place as the world’s 10th biggest steel producer during the mentioned time span, the report said.

The rising trend is also witnessed in the export of Iran’s steel, as according to the latest report released in this due, Iranian major steel producers, including Mobarakeh Steel Company, Khuzestan Steel Company, Esfahan Steel Company, and Hormozgan Steel Company and some others, exported 3.811 million tons of steel in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, rising 48 percent as compared to the same period of time in the past year, IRNA reported on Saturday.

As stated by the deputy managing director of Mobarakeh Steel Company, one of Iran’s major steel producers, “The sanctions have not only not bent the back of Mobarakeh Steel Company, but has led to various record breakings.”

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.

According to the Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry, 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.

Iran is currently the tenth largest steelmaker in the world and is estimated to climb to seventh place by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025).

MA/MA