Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran has targeted to increase its crude steel output capacity to 50 million tons per year, the country's Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said, ISNA news agency reported June 12.
At present, Iran has a capacity to produce 25 million tons of crude steel annually, Nematzadeh said, adding the output stands at only 17 million tons because the production process has not been completed well.
He forecasted that Iran will step into realizing its crude steel production targets from March 2017.
According to the latest monthly report of the World Steel Association, over 5.6 million tons of crude steel were produced in Iran during the first four months of 2016, 1.5 percent more compared to the same period of 2015.
About 1.51 million tons of crude steel were produced in Iran in April 2016, or 7.8 percent more year-on-year.
The Islamic Republic's steel output throughout 2015 is estimated to have hit 16.11 million tons. This in its own turn shows a 1.4 percent decline year-on-year.
Iran also produced 16.331 million tons of crude steel in 2014.
The country's crude steel production reached 15.421 million tons in 2013, which was 6.6 percent more than the previous year.