TEHRAN - Iran’s crude steel production increased by eight percent in 2022 when the production by the world’s top 64 steelmakers declined by 4.2 percent, according to the World Steel Association (WSA)’s latest report.

Based on the WSA data, Iran was ranked first among the world’s top steel producers in terms of production growth in the previous year, IRNA reported.

Based on the report, Iran produced 30.6 million tons of crude steel in the mentioned year.

Meanwhile, WSA stated that crude steel production by the world’s top 64 producers fell 4.2 percent to stand at 1.787 billion in 2022.

Production by Europe’s major steel producers also declined significantly last year so that Germany’s production declined by 8.4 percent, Italy experienced negative growth of 11.6 percent, France’s output declined by 13.1 percent, Spain registered a negative 19.2 percent growth and the UK a 15.6 percent decline in steel production.

China, the world's largest steel producer, produced 1.013 billion tons of steel in 2022, accounting for 53 percent of the world’s total steel output.

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.

The country is expected to climb to seventh place among the world’s top steel producers by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (March 2025).

EF/MA