Iran produced 31.9mn mt of crude steel in 2019, up by 30.1pc from 24.52mn mt the prior year, according to the World Steel Association (WSA). The country has targeted 45mn mt of output in the next Iranian year (Mar2020-Mar2021).
Iran recorded the world’s third-highest increase in crude steel production in 2019.
The highest growth in production in 2019 was in Libya, up 53pc from 2018, though volumes involved are minuscule compared to traditional steel powerhouses. Libya produced 0.60mn mt of crude steel in 2019, up from 0.39mn mt in 2018.
Vietnam showed a 43.2pc rise in production from the prior year to register the second-highest growth in the world. Vietnam’s crude steel output was at 20.06mn mt in 2019 up from 14.13mn mt in 2018.
Iran’s steel output was at 23.648mn mt in the first 11 months of 2019, rising 5.3pc from 22.452mn mt in the same period previous year.
In December, Iran’s steel output rose 40pc to 2.89mn mt from the prior year.
In November, Iran produced 2.13mn mt of crude steel, down 2.6pc from 2.187mn mt in November 2018.
US government imposed new sanctions on Iran’s metal and minerals in May 2019.
In 2019, the steel industry’s average global output was at 1.848bn mt of crude steel, 3.5pc up from the previous year.
China, the world’s largest steel producer recorded 996.3mn mt of crude steel production. This was followed by India and Japan, at 111.24mn mt (up 1.8pc) and 99.28mn mt (down 4.8pc), respectively.