TEHRAN (Iran News) – Production of steel ingots and products during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 20-August 21) increased by 10 and three percent respectively, according to figures released by the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA).
During the period, the country’s production of sponge iron witnessed an 11 percent increase, reported imidro.gov.ir on Monday.
From the beginning of April to the end of August, the country’s steelmakers produced 11.8 million tons of steel ingots (billets, blooms and slabs), said the ISPA report, adding the figure was 10.7 million tons in the same period of its preceding year.
Also, the production of steel products (beams, rebars, angles, channel beams and sheets) during the said period stood at 8.8 million tons, while the corresponding figure last year was 8.5 million tons.
The ISPA report showed that the production of sponge iron for March 20-August 21 amounted to almost 12.9 million tons, which shows an 11 percent increase compared to the related output last year – 11.6 million tons.
According to figures released by the World Steel Association (WSA) on August 24, Iranian steelmakers produced over 16.2 million tons of crude steel during the first seven months of 2020, marking a 10.7 percent rise compared to the figure for the same period in 2019, which was 14.6 million tons.
Iran produced 2.3 million tons of crude steel in July, showing a 14.3 percent rise compared to the figure for the same month in 2019, which was 2.04 million tons.
Iran produced 31.9 million tons of crude steel in 2019, according to the WSA figures released in January.
The country plans to increase its annual steel production capacity to 55 million tons by 2025, with exports expected to reach between 10 million tons and 15 million tons per year.
The WSA is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. Its members represent approximately 85 percent of the world’s steel producers, including over 150 steel producers, with nine of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations and steel research institutes.
- source : Iran Daily
