Iran’s annual crude steel exports rise by 26%: Report

The report by the official IRNA agency published on Sunday showed that crude steel exports from Iran reached 6.908 million metric tons at the end of the last calendar year, up from 5.493 million tons in the year before.

The report said exports of various casting products, including billets, blooms and slabs surged up to 31 percent over the last calendar year.

Exports for finished steel products also increased by 16 percent to reach 3.455 million tons, said the report, adding that shipments for long steel products, including rods, bars and rebars, had surged by 26 percent year on year in March.

Iran has maintained its place as a major producer and exporter of steel in the world despite recurrent attempts by the United States to choke off the country lucrative trade of metals.

Exports of raw and finished metal products have continued unabated even since the US imposed its inclusive bans on Iran’s trade of metals in May 2019.

The country aims to reach a target of 15-20 million tons of steel exports by 2025. Total production capacity is estimated to reach over 50 million tons per year over the next five years.   

The IRNA report said Iran’s import of crude steel declined sharply over the past calendar year to stand at 5,000 metric tons, down from 28,000 tons in the previous year.

It said imports of steel products also declined by 42 percent at 0.598 million tons over the same period.