BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 20. Iran's raw steel output increased by 3 percent in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through December 21, 2023), compared to the same period last year, Trend reports.
Data from the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA) shows that Iran produced around 24.5 million tons of raw steel over the course of nine months.
Meanwhile, this figure stood at about 23.8 million tons in the same period last Iranian year.
In addition, over 16.6 million tons of steel products were manufactured in Iran during 9 months, representing a 0.24 percent increase from nearly 16.6 million tons in the same period the previous year.
Moreover, Iran produced approximately 28.1 million tons of sponge iron for 9 months. This is an increase of 6.5 percent compared to 26.3 million tons in the same period last Iranian year.
Along with all these, 44.8 million tons of iron ore pellets were produced in the country in the specified period, showing an increase of 9.8 percent compared to 40.8 million tons in the same period last year.
Reportedly, Iran's annual steel production capacity is around 40 million tons. Iran plans to increase the figure to 55 million tons by 2025.