Iran’s steel exports rose by almost a third in the seven months to October 22, shows a report by the country’s top metals holding IMIDRO.
The report published on Monday cited figures by the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA) showing that steel shipments from Iran had reached a total of 5.912 million metric tons in March-October, up 30% against the similar period last year.
The report said that exports of semi-finished steel products, mainly billet, bloom and slab, had accounted for over 85% of all shipments.
Steel manufacturers had sold 80% more slab steel to foreign customers over the seven months to late October compared to the similar period last year, showed ISPA figures.
Exports of finished steel products also rose by 44% over the same period to a total of 1.486 million tons. Rebar shipments had topped 1.3 million tons, up 57% against last year, said the report.
Iran’s exports of sponge iron, or what is technically known as the DRI, nearly tripled compared to March-October 2020 to reach 698,000 tons, it said.
Iran has seen a major surge in activity in its metals and mining sector since the United States imposed its sanctions on the country’s exports of crude oil in 2018.
Washington came back with a series of similar bans on Iran’s metals trade in May 2019. However, reports by the government and international organizations show the sanctions failed to hamper shipments of steel and other metals from Iran.
Iranian government estimates suggest the country sits on around 60 billion tons of proven mineral reserves. A Monday report by the offical IRNA news agency said the figure could reach 100 billion tons with new exploration projects planned to be implemented across Iran in the upcoming years.