TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran witnessed its exports of metals grow in the year ending in March 2020, as the country keeps earning more from the sector despite US trade bans.
A report by IMIDRO, Iran’s largest holding company in the metals and mining sector, showed annual exports of metals had reached $8.4 billion at the end of the last Iranian year, Press TV reported.
The report said exports of steel products had grown by seven percent year-on-year to top $4.507 billion while copper product shipments had amounted to a total of $1.241 billion, a surge of 35 percent compared to the year ending in late March 2019.
Zinc shipments also increased 18 percent year-on-year to reach $301 million while alumina powder, used as a raw material in aluminum production, surged by 144 percent compared to the previous year, to stand at $387,000.
Total metals exports exceeded 58 million metric tons in volume, said the report that was covered by the semi-official Fars News Agency.
It said imports into the Iranian metals sector was largely down in the year to March, with steel products at $986 million, a decrease of 23 percent year-on-year, adding that copper imports also declined by three percent, to stand at $16.857 million.
The figures prove earlier reports suggesting there has been a stable trend of growth in the Iranian mining and metals sector despite a series of US sanctions that were enacted in May 2019, seeking to choke Iran’s lucrative trade of metals.
The boom is partly due to Iran’s increased efforts to develop the sector as the government sees revenues derived from it as an alternative to the oil income that has been targeted by US sanctions since 2018.
- source : Iran Daily
