Iran’s
production of steel dropped by 20.7% year on year in April, according to
figures by the World Steel Association (worldsteel ) published in the local
media and amid a continued decline in the global steel output that has been
caused by lower manufacturing activity in China.
Worldsteel
figures published in a Sunday report by the Fars news agency showed that total
production at Iranian steel mills in April had reached 2.2 million metric tons
(mt).
The figures
showed that Iranian crude steel output over the four months to April had
totaled at 9.1 million mt, down 8.9% against the similar period in 2021.
Iran
remained the 10th largest steel producer in the world, trailing Brazil at output
figures of 2.9 million mt for April and 11.6 million mt for the January-April
period.
Global
output of crude steel continued to decline over April as largest supplier China
churned out 92.8 million mt, down 5.2% compared to the similar month last year,
showed the worldsteel figures.
The figures
showed that other major producers, including Japan, the United States, South
Korea and Germany had also reported declines in April steel production although
second largest supplier India, along with Russia and Turkey saw their output
increase.
Iran had
reported increased exports of steel over the calendar year to March. Government
figures showed that shipments had increased by nearly 20% compared to the year
before.
The country
has seen a major surge in activity in its mining and metals sector since the
United States imposed sanctions on the country’s exports of crude oil nearly
four years ago.
Metals
exports have accounted for a major part of Iran’s foreign exchange revenues
since 2019 when oil shipments started to decrease because of US sanctions.