The company produced 737,338 tons of finished steel during the month, posting a 3% decline compared with last year's corresponding period.
In addition, 900,553 tons of semi-finished products were produced by MSC, up 9% year-on-year, the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization’s latest report shows.
Located in southwestern Isfahan, Mobarakeh Steel Company is the biggest steel producer in Iran as well as the Middle East and North Africa region.
In terms of finished steel production, MSC was followed by Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO) with 179,201 tons (down 1% YOY), Oxin Steel Company with 77,715 tons (up 23% YOY), Ahvaz Rolling and Pipe Manufacturing Company with 28,000 tons (up 180% YOY), IASCO with 22,785 tons—22,721 tons of rebar (up 6% YOY) and 64 tons of “other products”, Azarbaijan Steel Company with 15,513 tons (down 33% YOY), Khorasan Steel Company with 14,504 tons (down 75% YOY), Bonab Steel Company with 10,478 tons, INSIG with 17,991 tons, including 8,436 tons of rebar (up 48% YOY), 8,696 tons of beams (up 285% YOY) and 859 tons of pipes (up 25% YOY), and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Automotive Sheet Company with 6,330 tons (down 71% YOY).
MSC was followed in semis production by KSC with 345,385 tons (up 6% YOY), ESCO with 171,776 tons (down 15% YOY), South Kaveh Steel Company with 100,516 tons (down 1% YOY), Chadormalu Steel Company with 88,910 tons (up 1% YOY), Arfa Iron and Steel Company with 60,190 tons (down 22% YOY), Bardsir Steel Complex with 49,371 tons (up 258% YOY), Iran Alloy Steel Company with 44,960 tons (up 14% YOY), Khorasan Steel Company with 20,380 tons (down 79% YOY), Bonab Steel Company with 14,681 tons and INSIG with 1,232 tons.
The above-mentioned heavyweight steelmakers of Iran produced a total of 2.9 million tons of steel (semis and finished) during the month ending April 19.
A total of 1.1 million tons of finished steel products, including hot- and cold-rolled coils, rebar, beams, pipes, wide and galvanized sheets were produced by these steel mills during the period under review to register a 4% YOY decline.
They produced a total of 1.79 million tons of semi-finished steel, including ingot, bloom and billet (semi-finished products) during the month, up 1% year-on-year.
World's 9th Biggest Steelmaker
The World Steel Association's latest report shows Iran is the world’s ninth biggest crude steel producer.
The country produced a total of 8.48 million tons of crude steel during January-March 2020, which indicates a 42.3% year-on-year rise.
Iran’s crude steel output stood at 31.9 million tons in 2019, up 30.1% YOY.
The country is aggressively pursuing the target of becoming the world’s sixth largest steel producer as per the 20-Year Vision Plan, which targets annual production capacity expansion to 55 million tons and 20-25 million tons of exports per year by 2025. Iranian steel mills have so far realized about 35 million tons of the capacity target.
The nominal steel production capacity of Iran currently stands at over 35 million tons per year.
The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization's latest report on under-construction steel production units shows a total of 19.1 million tons will be added to Iran’s annual steel production capacity when the construction of all these units is completed in the fiscal 2023-24.
The addition of 19.1 million tons when the under-construction projects come on stream to the current capacity means the aggregate output capacity will reach 54.1 million tons by March 2024, which is only 900,000 tons short of the target, for which Iranian steelmakers have one more year to reach.
Iranian steel mills sold over 254.35 trillion rials (about $1.5 billion) worth of steel products during the last Iranian year that ended on March 19, 2020.
According to Reza Shahrestani, a member of Iran Steel Producers Association’s Board of Directors, the sales volume shows a 93% rise compared to the year before.
The steelmakers produced 47.42 million tons of semi-finished and finished steel products in the last Iranian year to register an 8.37% increase compared to the year before.
KSC Ranks First in Exports
With a total of 102,373 tons of exports during the first month of the current fiscal year (March 20-April 19), Khouzestan Steel Company was Iran's biggest steel exporter.
The mill experienced a year-on-year decline of 60% in exports during the month under review, the report shows.
Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO) was the second biggest exporter during the period under review, as it shipped out 28,282 tons, down 13% compared with last year's corresponding period.
Mobarakeh Steel Company ranked third by exporting 8,422 tons, down 85% year-on-year.
South Kaveh Steel Company exported 40,000 tons of billets, up 60% YOY. The company exported 10,000 tons of direct-reduced iron during the period.
Hormozgan Steel Company exported 31,566 tons of slabs, down 50% YOY.
Bonab Steel Company exported 949 tons of rebar during the month.
The above steelmakers, considered as major producers in Iran, exported a total of about 221,592 tons during the month under review to register a year-on-year decline of 49%.
The IMIDRO report will be followed by a more comprehensive one by the Iran Steel Producers Association, which also includes data for small-scale steel mills.
The heavyweight steelmakers exported a total of 7.03 million tons of steel during the Iranian fiscal year to register a year-on-year growth of 27%.
With a total of more than 1.83 million tons of exports over the year, Khouzestan Steel Company was also Iran's biggest exporter of steel last year.