Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.30/ Trend G.Mehdi/
Iran has produced 8.73 million tons of crude steel during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, showing a 9.6 percent growth compared to the same period last year, the Mehr News Agency quoted Industry, Mine, and Trade Deputy Minister Fereydoun Ahmadi as saying.
During the same period, 10.3 million tons of steel products, including round bars, angles, and sheets were produced, he added. The deputy industry minister Reza Fatemi-Amin said on September 9 that some 7 million tons of crude steel is imported annually.
Meanwhile, the industry minister Mehdi Ghazanfari has said Iran will become one of the world's main steel exporters by March 2016.
He added that despite global economic sanctions, the country's steel output increased by 5 million tons during the past two years, reaching 17 million tons.