Iran’s economy has suffered $14 billion in cumulative losses over the past four years due to power and gas outages, a senior industry official said on Saturday, warning that the country’s steel sector continues to face serious production setbacks.
Bahram Sobhani, head of the Iranian Steel Producers Association, told a press conference that ongoing energy restrictions have significantly impacted industrial output. “Not only has power rationing challenged national production, but it has also contributed to $14 billion in accumulated losses for the broader economy over four years — a figure not easily recovered,” he said.
Sobhani noted a concerning trend in steel output, with year-on-year production continuing to fall. “When comparing last year’s overall performance with that of the preceding year, we see declines in multiple segments,” he said. “More alarming is the drop in output of the calendar month to late April compared to the same month last year – marking a second straight year of contraction.”
Crude steel production – including billet and slab – declined 5.7% to 19.052 million tons in the current year, he said.
Sobhani attributed the downturn primarily to intensified and overlapping energy shortages. “last year, power and gas cuts were not only more frequent than before, but also occurred simultaneously and extended beyond the traditional summer period,” he explained.