Tehran, Iran, Aug.26
Trend:
Iran plans to produce 28 million tons of steel and export 13 million tons of it in current Iranian year (started March 21, 2019), while due to the US sanctions, export of each ton of steel costs $37, said a member of Iran steel producers Association.
Reza Shahrestani talked about the latest situation of steel production and exports in an interview with Trend.
"Iran produced 25 million tons of steel in last Iranian year [started March 21, 2018] and exported 8.5 million tons . It is expected to produce 28 million tons of steel and export 13 million tons of it in current Iranian year," he added.
"Due to conditions that created by the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, the export of steel became linked to sale of commodity exchange and traded even less than 40 percent of its real price, so we could not achieve the last year's record," he noted.
"The issue of sanctions and ban on transportation by ship is very pressing at the moment, and the cost of export has increased from $18 to $37 per one ton of steel," he said referring to exports problems.
"After seizure of Iranian oil tanker by the UK, the concerns over exporting steel have intensified; therefore, we should try to export steel to neighbor countries in order to reduce the costs and the concerns over seizure of ships," he said.
"Iran steel exports have been sanctions since May 8, and they can halt the ships transporting steel. The Europeans might act in this way due to fear of the US," he added.