(Minews) - Iran is aware of the advantages of accessing open seas and has a plan to turn certain ports on the rims of the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman into steel production hubs, Head of Iran’s Steel Producers Association, Bahram Sobhani, said.
Sobhani said on Sunday that some 1.33 million tons of steel were exported during the first three quarters of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 22), adding that coastal areas of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman would change into centers for steel production in a near future.
The official said that the amount of Iran’s steel exports stood at 1.25 million tons last year.
The World Steel Association (WSA) announced earlier that Iran with the production of nearly 1.45 million tons of raw steel in November, stood 14th among the world industrial states.
In its latest report, the WSA said that the figure indicates a 6.1 percent growth compared with the corresponding figure of last year, which was 1.37 mln tons.
It announced that the country still holds its former rank as the world’s 14th steel producer.
The association put Iran’s 11-month steel output in 2014 at 14.96 mln tons, up by 6.4 percent year-on-year, which was 14.07 mln tons.
The WSA estimated that total raw steel output of 65 countries in the same period amounted to 1.49 bln tons, showing a 1.8 percent increase year-on-year.
According to the WSA report, the world’s top 10 steel producers in November included China (63.3 mln tons), Japan (9.175 mln tons), the US (7.2 mln tons), India (6.89 mln tons), South Korea (5.911 mln tons), Russia (5.84 mln tons), Germany (3.59 mln tons), Turkey (2.79 mln tons), Brazil (2.77 mln tons) and Taiwan (1.9 mln tons).
