Semi-finished steel made up 5.06 million tons or 64.95% of the total export volume, up 38% YOY, according to Financial Tribune.
Billet and bloom had the lion’s share of semis exports with an aggregate of 3.52 million tons to mark a 54% YOY rise. Slab followed with 1.54 million tons, up 12% YOY.
Exports of finished steel products increased 27% YOY to reach 2.72 million tons.
Long steel products had the biggest share of finished product exports with a total of 2.07 million tons (76.1%) to register a 41% growth YOY.
Rebar was the main exported product in this category with 1.75 million tons, registering a 55% increase YOY, followed by L-beam, T-beam and other types with 173,000 tons (up 24% YOY) and beams with 146,000 (down 26% YOY).
Flat steel products had a 654,000-ton share in exports of finished steel products, down 4% YOY.
Hot-rolled coil grabbed the lion’s share in this category with 425,000 tons to register a decrease of 20% YOY. It was followed by coated coil with 130,000 tons, up 4% YOY, and cold-rolled coil with 99,000 tons, up by 267% YOY.
Exports of direct-reduced iron increased 91% YOY to 823,000 tons.
KSC Tops the List
With a total of 1.37 million tons of exports during the nine months under review, Khouzestan Steel Company was Iran's biggest steel exporter.
The mill experienced a year-on-year decline of 17% in exports during the period, data released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization show.
The steelmaker, located in the southwestern Khuzestan Province, exports to over a dozen countries.
About half of KSC's exports go to the Middle East and North Africa region. Its other major export destinations are in the Far East and the Americas.
Mobarakeh Steel Company, located in Isfahan, was the second biggest exporter as it shipped out 1.1 million tons of products, up 47% compared with last year's corresponding period.
The company is the largest steelmaker in the Middle East and North Africa region and one of the largest industrial complexes operating in Iran.
Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO) came third as it exported 881,752 tons, up 30% YOY.
South Kaveh Steel Company exported 608,100 tons of billets, up 23% YOY, and 69,210 tons of direct-reduced iron, up 64% YOY.
Hormozgan Steel Company exported 593,775 tons of slabs, up 19% YOY.
Khorasan Steel Company shipped out 197,265 tons of bloom, indicating a 79% growth YOY. In addition, the company exported 11,058 tons of rebar, down 80% YOY.
Chadormalou Mining and Industrial Company exported 189,377 tons of billets during the nine months.
Saba Steel Company exported 107,070 tons of hot briquettes, up 261% YOY.
Iran Alloy Steel Company shipped out 46,648 tons of rebar, up 24% YOY.
Bonab Steel Company exported 29,722 tons of rebar, up 1,750% YOY, while the company exported 449 tons of “other products” during the period, up by 373% YOY.
47.8% Decline in Imports
Imports of all steel products declined during the nine-month period under review compared with the last year’s same period.
The ISPA report shows steel imports stood at 395,000 tons during the nine months to Dec. 21, to register a 47.82% decline YOY.
The import of semi-finished products amounted to only 3,000 tons during the nine months, down 89% YOY.
This is while imports of finished steel dropped 46% YOY to 392,000 tons.
The imports mostly included flat steel products with 348,000 tons, down 45% YOY. Coated coil was the top product in this category with 174,000 tons, down 16% YOY, followed by CRC with 107,000 tons, down 56% YOY, and HRC with 67,000 tons, down 63% YOY.
Imports of long steel products stood at 44,000 tons, indicating a 54% decline YOY. Rebar topped the list in this category with 26,000 tons, down 21% YOY, followed by L-beam, T-beam and other types with 10,000 tons (down 76% YOY) and beams with 8,000 tons (down 62% YOY).
Apparent Steel Usage
Iran's apparent steel usage—defined as production plus imports minus exports, sometimes also adjusted for changes in inventories—during the nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21) stood at 14.58 million tons for semi-finished products, registering a 3% decline compared with last year's corresponding period.
It stood at 11.55 million for finished products posting no change year-on-year, the Iranian Steel Producers Association's latest report shows.
Flat steel products accounted for the lion’s share of finished steel consumption with 5.95 million tons, down 1% YOY.
Among flat steel products, HRC had the biggest share of apparent usage with 5.89 million tons (up 3% YOY), followed by CRC with 1.97 million tons (down 6% YOY) and coated coil with 1.28 million tons (up 14% YOY).
Long steel products accounted for 5.59 million tons of finished steel apparent usage, up 1% YOY.
Rebar grabbed the biggest share in this section with 4.45 million, down 2% YOY, followed by beams with 684,000 tons (up 26% YOY) and L-beam, T-beam and other types with 458,000 tons (down 1% YOY).
As for semis, the apparent usage of billet and bloom amounted to 8.07 million tons, down 2% YOY, while that of slab declined 5% YOY to 6.5 million tons.
DRI usage was up 6% to 2.06 million tons.