(Minews) - Iran, the largest steelmaker in the Middle East and North Africa, plans to quadruple steel production to 55 million tonnes a year by 2025, a report said.
Steel output by Iran totalled 16.33 million tonnes in 2014, securing the country’s place as the 15th largest producer in the world.
According to the Global Steel Association, cited by the Fars news agency, Iran produced 2.27 million tonnes of steel in the first two months of this year, up 15.6 per cent on the same period the year before.
Steel is a strategic commodity for the country of 75 million, which is also the Middle East’s biggest carmaker. It is fundamental to the Iranian society with its massive oil and gas industry, transportation network, water supply, urban centres and mammoth construction, the report said.
Iran’s steel imports, put around 10 million tonnes a year in some reports, roundly outweigh its exports.
The steel sector in Iran is under growing threat of dumping by China, Russia and Turkey. The government has imposed tariffs of 10 to 20 per cent and cancelled foreign currency offers at preferential rates on imports in order to protect the sector.
But the industry still faces enormous challenges to stay competitive. One drawback is the high cost of iron ore production in Iran compared with the outside world, the report said.
Head of the Iranian Steel Manufacturers Association, Bahram Sobhani, says one key problem lies where the size of production units is concerned. “It is unfathomable that instead of establishing units with a capacity above five million tonnes, we have built small- and medium-size plants,” he said.
Iran’s biggest mill, also the Middle East’s largest, is Mobarakeh Steel Company which produces 7.2 million metric tonnes of steel per year.
Most of Iran’s private steel plants, with a capacity under 100,000 tonnes, are scattered across the country.
