Iran’s 10-month crude steel output hits 11m tons

TEHRAN,Jan.29(MNA)-- Iran produced some 11 million tons of crude steel in the first ten months of the current calendar year, started on March 21, 2011, and the figure is projected to reach 55 million tons by 2025, the deputy industry, mine and trade minister said. Vajihollah Ja’fari added that crude steel output stood at 12.7 million tons last year. Iran also produced some 16 million tons of steel products last year, he added. Iran will become one of the world’s main steel exporters by March 2016, Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said in May 2011. Iran plans to reach the production capacity of 42 million tons per year by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan (March 2016). According to Ghazanfari, the nation’s steel production capacity is currently 19 million tons annually.