Iran had the largest
growth rate in steel production in the world in 2022, according to latest
figures by the World Steel Association (worldsteel).
Worldsteel figures covered in a Tuesday report by the official
IRNA news agency showed that Iran’s steel production had reached a total of
30.6 million metric tons (mt) last year, up 8% from 2021.
Global steel output dropped by 4.2% year on year in 2022 to
reach 1.878 billion mt, showed the figures which also indicated that the global
energy crunch and the war in Ukraine had seriously affected steel production in
Europe last year.
Major European producers reported cuts to steel output by as
much as 19% in 2022 while production in Ukraine contracted by more than 70%
over the same period, according to the worldsteel figures.
The figures showed that Iran had remained the 10th largest steel producer in the world last year.
Iran has increasingly relied on hard currency revenues earned
from its mining and metals exports since 2018 when the United States imposed
sanctions on the country's oil exports.
Iran is now a net exporter of steel with around 7 million mt of
annual shipments. It comes nearly a decade after the country reported imports
of some 3.5 million mt per year.