Iranian steelmakers produced more than 29.7 million tons of steel and steel products during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2021-January 20, 2022), according to statistics released by the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade on Saturday.
During the said 10 months, steel plants of the country churned out over 18 million tons of crude steel as well as 11.7 million tons of steel products, IRNA reported.
The report added that a sum of 42.8 million tons of iron ore concentrate and 42.9 million tons of iron ore pellets during the 10 months to January 20, marking three percent of rise compared to the corresponding figure of preceding year.
Iranian steel complexes also produced more than 44 million tons of direct-reduced iron (DRI), also known as sponge iron, showing a six percent drop compared to the related output of preceding Iranian year.
According to figures released by World Steel Association (WSA) in January, Iranian steelmakers smelted 28.5 million tons of crude steel during 2021.
The statistics show a 1.8 percent drop for Iran compared to the corresponding figure of 2020, which stood at 29 million tons.
Iran was the 10th steelmaker of the world in 2021, indicated the figures.
According to WSA statistics, Iranian steel mills cast 15.1 million tons of crude steel in December 2021, marking a 2.8 percent rise compared to corresponding figure of 2020, which was 14.7 million tons.
According to the Islamic Republic's Vision Plan, the country's total steel production capacity is to hit 55 million tons a year by 2025, with exports figure expected to reach 10-15 million tons.
WSA is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. WSA 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.