Iran steel production at 19M tonnes

Annual steel production grew twofold to reach 19 million tonnes during the tenure of President  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said deputy industries, mines and trade minister.

Amir Amini added that before the ninth government took office (June 2004), Iran only produced nine million tonnes of steel.

He said Iran’s steel production ranking has increased by five places, adding that if the current trend were to continue in the near future, Iran will rank first in the Middle East.

Amini noted that by 2025,  steel production is stipulated to reach 55 million tonnes.

“To achieve the figure, permits have been issued,  most of which belong toTorbat-e Heydarieh and Torbat-e Jam and Khwaf County (Khorasan  Razavi province),” he said.

Abolqasem Khosravi, Torbat-e Jam’s representative in Majlis, hoped that the government would resolve the county’s steel production problems.

Khosravi also called for investment in the steel production projects of Torbat-e Heydarieh.

According to the World Steel Association (WSA), Iran was the second leading steel producer in the Middle East in 2010 after Turkey.

Iran’s main steel mills are located in Isfahan and Khuzestan provinces.

The major raw steel producers of Iran are Mobarakeh  Steel  Mill, with about 47% of the market share, Khuzestan Steel Company with about 23%, Isfahan Steel Mill with about 20% and the Iran National Steel Industries Group with approximately 10% of the market share.