TEHRAN - Iran’s crude steel production increased by 11.8 percent in the first two months of 2022 when the production by the world’s top 64 steelmakers declined by 5.5 percent, according to the World Steel Association (WSA)’s latest report.

Iran was ranked first among the world’s top steel producers in terms of production growth, followed by India, Germany, Russia, and the United States, IRNA reported, citing the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).

Based on the report, Iran produced 5.3 million tons of crude steel during the mentioned two months.

According to IMIDRO’s estimations, the country’s crude steel production in February stood at 2.5 million tons which was also 3.7 percent higher than the same month in 2021.

Meanwhile, WSA stated that crude steel production by the world’s top 64 producers fell 5.5 percent to stand at 299.4 billion tons in the first two months of 2022.

During the mentioned period, China’s production declined by 10 percent, Brazil experienced negative growth of 5.8 percent, Turkey’s output declined by 5.7 percent, South Korea registered a negative 2.6 percent growth and Japan a negative 2.4 percent rise in steel production.

China, the world's largest steel producer, produced 158 million tons of steel in the first two months of 2022, while the U.S. steel production reached 13.4 million tons, and Japan produced 15.1 million tons, India 20.9 million tons, South Korea 11.2 million tons, Germany 6.5 million tons, Turkey 6.1 million tons, Brazil 5.6 million tons and Russia produced 12.4 million tons of crude steel.

According to the World Steel Association, similar to the past two years, Iran has maintained its 10th place among the world’s top steel producers, after countries like China, India, Japan, and Russia.

The Iranian Steel industry has been constantly developing over the past years against all the pressures and obstacles created by external factors like the U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus outbreak that has severely affected the performance of the world’s top producers.

EF/MA