TEHRAN – Iran is ranked ninth among the world’s top steel-producing countries, rising one place in the list of the world’s top steel-makers, according to the World Steel Association.

As reported by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), based on the WSA data the Islamic Republic produced 2.7 million tons of steel in the first month of 2023.

The figure shows a 27.7 percent hike compared to the corresponding month of the preceding year.

As reported, the world’s top steel-producing countries produced 145.3 million tons of crude steel in January to register a 3.3-percent decline, year-on-year.

During the mentioned month, China produced 79.5 million tons, becoming the top steelmaking country in the world.

India produced 10.5 million, ranking second, followed by Japan with the production of 7.2 million tons of crude steel.

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.

Earlier this month, the WSA reported that 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.

Iran was ranked first among the world’s top steel producers in terms of production growth in the previous year.

Based on the WSA data, 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.

According to the World Steel Association, Iran was the world’s 10th top steel producer over the past two years, after countries like China, India, Japan, and Russia.

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