Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 28
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran exports 400,000 metric tons of steel to Iraq annually, which is equal to five percent of Iraqi steel imports, Ahmad Donyanour, a former member of the Iranian Steel Producers Association board of directors said.
Donyanour said that currently Turkey is the main supplier of the Iraq's steel demands, the Islamic Republic's official IRNA news agency reported Dec. 28.
He added that the Islamic Republic's share from 4 million metric tons of Afghanistan's annual steel imports stands at 150,000 metric tons.
Pakistan is the leading steel exporter to the country, he said.
Donyanour argued that Iran needs to resolve money transferring problems (due to sanctions imposed on the country's banking system) to boost its steel export.
He also underlined that Iran's steel industry works with only 50 percent of its capacity.
Over 11.2 million metric tons of crude steel were produced in Iran during the first eight months of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21-Nov. 22). The figure is 6.8 percent more compared the same months of preceding year.
Iranian private and state-run companies also produced 11.656 million metric tons of steel products during the 8-month period, indicating a 4.8 percent growth compared to the same months of last year.
Iran produced 15.6 million metric tons of crude steel during the last fiscal year (ended on March 21), 8.8 percent more in comparison with preceding year.
Islamic Republic's steel products output also stood at 16.5 million metric tons in last fiscal year, indicating a 5 percent decrease year on year.
The World Steel Association reported that about 14.97 million metric tons of crude steel were produced in Iran during the first eleven months of current year or by 6.4 percent more compared to the same period of 2013.
The country ranked 14th among the world's 65 steel producers in terms of production in the first eleven months of 2014.
Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh