On the sidelines of the World Steel Association's (worldsteel) 45th annual meeting held in Paris on October 12, an expert from the Iranian steel industry told SteelOrbis that the economic sanctions of the US and the EU have had a limited impact on Iran's steel industry, adding that local producers, including the country's largest flat steel producer Mobarakeh Steel and also Khouzestan Steel and Esfahan Steel, have recently increased their production beyond their initial plans.
Assessing the reasons behind the growth in Iranian domestic steel production, the Iranian steel expert said that Iran is currently producing about 14 million mt of steel annually, whereas its annual steel consumption totals about 22-24 million mt. Accordingly, he said, the gap between the country's steel production and consumption leaves vast room for further increases in domestic steel production.
While recalling that the Iranian government has a policy to curb steel exports, the Iranian steel industry source interviewed by SteelOrbis stated that some Iranian producers favorably located to expand to the export markets, such as Hormozgan Steel in Bandar Abbas near the Persian Gulf, are ready to head to the export markets, adding that Iran's growing steel exports may create a profitable equilibrium with its steel imports.