Iran cuts steel imports amid surge in domestic output

Tehran - BORNA - Figures released by the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA) showed that Iran’s imports of steel products reached $646 million in the eight months to November 21, marking a 36% decline compared to the same period last year.

The data indicated that Iran’s imports of long steel products, including I-beams, U-steel, and rebar, fell by 36% year on year during April–November to $48 million.

Imports of steel sheets also dropped by 36% over the same period, declining to $598 million, according to the figures.

ISPA data also showed that Iran had imported only $3 million worth of semi-finished steel—the three types of steel ingots used to produce finished steel products—in the eight months to late November, representing a 55% decrease from a year earlier.

The drop in imports comes as Iran’s domestic steel production continues to rise. Iran is currently the world’s 10th-largest steel producer.

The country produced nearly 15 million metric tons of steel in the seven months to late October, up 3.2% from the same period last year.

Steel exports from the country also increased by 27% year on year in April-October to more than $4.6 billion.

However, an analysis included in IRNA’s Saturday report questioned whether Iran needs to import steel at a time when major producers such as China and Russia are dumping products to protect their export markets.

The report noted that imports of nearly $600 million worth of steel sheets during April–November occurred despite domestic steelmakers facing idle capacity of more than 55% in cold-rolled sheet production and nearly 70% idle capacity in galvanized sheet production.

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