Tehran, Iran — Iran became the eighth largest steel supplier in the world in the first half of 2023 as the country kept increasing its output despite supply and price hike in international markets caused by the Ukraine War.
Figures from the World Steel Association (WSA) showed that Iran’s steel output had risen by 4.8 percent year on year in January-June to reach 16.1 million metric tons (mt), Iran’s Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) said, Tasnim agency reported, citing Press TV.
Iran was the world’s seventh largest steel producer in June with an output of 3.2 million mt, up 17.4 percent from June 2022, the report added.
For years, Iran had been ranked 10th globally in the list of top steel-producing countries.
However, a steady increase in Iranian steel production, which has been caused by the country’s expansionist policies in its metals sector, has allowed Iran to gradually ascend in the ranking this year.
That has come amid a war between Russia and Ukraine that has affected supplies in the international markets.
World Steel Association’s figures showed that the steel output of 63 countries studied in its monthly reports had reached 158.8 million mt in June, slightly down by 0.1 percent from June 2022.
The total global steel production volume in January-March also dropped by 1.1 percent year on year to reach 943.9 million mt.
The seven leading steel producing countries trailed by Iran in the WSA’s ranking of January-July were China, India, Japan, the US, Russia, South Korea and Germany while Brazil and Turkey came ninth and tenth in the list.
