Steel exports essential for implementation of development projects

Tehran, Oct 29, IRNA – Secretary of Steel Producers Association of Iran Seyed Rasoul Khalife Soltani here on Tuesday said Iran’s steel exports should grow at least 50% in order to implement development projects in this sector. He told reporters that now conditions are suitable in the country for steel exports and based on statics it made a growth of 40% in the first half of the current calendar year as compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, Ahmad Khorvash, a member of board of directors of the association said while Iran is under unjust sanctions it has managed to register growth of crude steel production at highest level in the world in the first half of the current year. Therefore, he further remarked, with regard to the growth in production import of this metal is not strategic and steel exports can meet parts of the hard currency demands of production units. The total crude steel production in the country up to the end of 1392 (March 20, 2014) stood at 15.6 million tons which shows an increase of 8.8% in comparison with the same period a year before. Also, chairman of the board of directors of the association said Iran by producing 8.3 million tons of crude steel in the first half of the current year reached a growth rate of 7% which is the highest among world countries. Bahram Sobhani said increase in crude steel production was registered at a time when the average growth rate of the world in this sector has been 3%. However, he added, different steel products in the first half of the current year reached 1.7 million tons which shows an increase of 33% in comparison with the same period last year. He put steel exports during the mentioned period at 1.1 million tons and said the figure showed an increase of 40% as compared to the same period last year. Sobhani expressed hope that the government will prevent irregular import of steel products and at the same time support domestic production by implementing tariffs./end