Iran’s exports of steel up by nearly a third in March-February: Report
Iran’s exports of steel have surged by nearly a third in the 11-months period between late March and late February 2019, shows a report.
The official IRNA news agency said on Thursday that steel exports from the country topped 6,513,123 million metric tons on February 19, a surge of 28 percent compared to the similar period spanning 2018-2019.
Exports surged by nearly 68 percent in the single month ending February 19 with total shipments standing at 628,993 tons, said the report.
Khuzestan Steel, one of the largest mills in Iran, however, recorded a decline of 19 percent in exports in February, it said, adding that the holding’s 11-month exports also declined by 16 percent.
Iran is among the top 10 steel producers in the world with estimates suggesting the country could reach a target of 10 million tons of exports for the current year ending March 19.
That comes as the Iranian government seeks to increase total annual steel output to 55 million tons in the years to come with share of exports estimated to reach 40-45 percent of the total output.
The booming steel exports and production in Iran has come despite increasing American pressure on the industry as Washington has imposed specific sanctions targeting the country’s metals trade.
The bans, enacted in May 2019, have largely failed to stem the industry’s growth mainly because Iranian companies use third countries to process exports to the customers.
The Iranian government also refrains from releasing information about the weight of output in each specific steel mill in the country, with authorities insisting the data should be kept confidential to allow more exports at the time of sanctions.
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