Semi-finished steel made up 5.6 million tons of the total export volume, down 12% year-on-year.
Billet and bloom had the lion’s share of semis exports with an aggregate of 4.2 million tons, which is 5% lower than the corresponding period of the previous year’s 4.44 million tons. Slab came next with 1.37 million tons, down 28% YOY. Iranian steelmakers exported more than 1.91 million tons of slab during the same period of the previous year.
Exports of finished steel products declined by 19% to 2.64 million tons.
Rebar accounted for the largest share of finished steel products exported from Iran during the 11-month period, with 1.68 million tons. The total volume of Iran’s rebar exports experienced a 20% fall compared with the same period of the year before.
Hot-rolled coil came next with 526,000 tons, registering a 1% growth compared with the first 11 months of the previous year.
Beam exports hit 160,000 tons during the period under review, down 12% YOY. Nearly 170,000 tons of "L-beam, T-beam and other types" were also exported from Iran during the 11-month period, recording a 19% decline YOY.
Coated coil with 77,000 tons, down 47% YOY, and cold-rolled coil with 26,000 tons, down 77% YOY, were the other finished steel products exported from Iran.
Exports of direct-reduced iron dropped by 13% YOY to 819,000 tons, ISPA figures show.
Unlike exports, imports of finished and semi-finished steel products increased during the period under review compared with the previous year’s corresponding period. The ISPA report shows that steel imports stood at 852,000 tons, up 90.1% YOY.
Semis imports, which consisted of billet and bloom and slab, made up 5,000 tons of the total figure, up 67 YOY. Billet and bloom imports amounted to 4,000 tons, up 100% as imports of slab remained unchanged at 1,000 tons.
Imports of finished steel jumped 90% YOY to 847,000 tons. The imports mostly included HRC with 323,000 tons, up 236%; CRC with 250,000 tons, up 88%; coated coil with 198,000, up 21%; L-beam, T-beam and other types with 42,000 tons, up 250%; rebar with 25,000 tons, down 22%; and beams with 9,000 tons, unchanged year-on-year.
Production Near 48m Tons
Iranian steelmakers produced 47.93 million tons of semi-finished and finished steel products during the first 11 months last fiscal year (March 20, 2020-Feb. 18).
According to the Iranian Steel Producers Association, semis accounted for 27.72 million tons of the total output, up by 11% YOY.
Billet and bloom made up 17.35 million tons of semi-finished production, as slab output reached 10.36 million tons to register a 13% and 8% YOY rise, respectively.
The output of finished steel increased by 10% YOY to 20.21 million tons.
Long steel products had a 10.66 million-ton share in the output of finished steel products, posting a 15% growth YOY.
Rebar production stood at 8.748 million tons (up 17% YOY). It was followed by beams with 1.163 million tons (up 12% YOY) and L-beam, T-beam and other types with 757,000 tons (up 3% YOY).
Production of flat steel picked up during the 11-month period, increasing by 5% year-on-year to 9.543 million tons.
Hot-rolled coil made up 7.992 million tons of the production in this category, showing a 6% rise compared with the similar period of last year, followed by cold-rolled coil with 2.382 million tons, unchanged compared with the same period of last year, and coated coil with 1.429 tons (down 9%).
Iran's output of direct reduced iron also grew by 9% to 27.842 million tons, ISPA data reveal.
According to the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, Mobarakeh Steel Company produced 8.92 million tons of semi-finished steel products during the 11 months.
The mill's semi-finished output was 6% higher than the first 11 months of the previous fiscal year.
The company’s output during the 11th month of the current fiscal year (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) increased by 16% to reach 682,433 tons.
MSC and its subsidiary Saba Steel Company produced 7.34 million tons of finished steel during the period. As a result, the company maintained its position as the largest Iranian steelmaker.
Located in southwestern Isfahan, Mobarakeh Steel Company is the biggest steel producer in Iran and the Middle East and North Africa region.
In terms of semis production, MSC was followed by Khuzestan Steel Company with 3.47 million tons of output during the 11 months. The number indicates a growth of 2% compared with the same period of last year.
KSC’s semi-finished output remained unchanged during the 11th month of the year at 260,591 tons.
Esfahan Steel Company came next with 2.08 million tons of bloom output during the 11 months, marking a decline of 6% year-on-year. The company's monthly output of semis dropped by 30% to 138,456 tons.
South Kaveh Steel Company with 1.25 million tons (up 80% YoY), Chadormalu Steel Company with 927,617 tons (down 1% YOY) and Khorasan Steel Company with 841,506 tons (down 21% YOY) were other main producers of semi-finished steel products during the 11 months.
South Kaveh Steel Company ranked fourth in terms of monthly semis production during the month to Feb. 18. The company’s output stood at 157,950 tons during the month under review, up 75%. Chadormalu Steel Company followed with 95,122 tons of semis output during the month under review, marking a 4% increase, YOY.
In terms of production of finished products, MSC was followed by ESCO with 2.07 million tons (3% lower than the same period of last year).
Other key producers of finished products were Khorasan Steel Company, Bonab Sheet Company, Ahvaz Rolling and Pipe Manufacturing Company, Azarbaijan Steel Company, Sirjan Steel Company and INSIG.
A total of 13.34 million tons of finished steel products, including hot- and cold-rolled coils, rebar, beams, pipes, wide and galvanized sheets, were produced by the heavyweights during the first 11 months of the fiscal year, up 3% YOY.
Heavyweights' output of finished steel products amounted to 1.19 million tons in the 11th fiscal month to register a 9% increase YOY.
As per the goals set in the 20-Year Vision Plan (2005-25), Iran seeks to become the world’s sixth largest steelmaker by 2025 with a crude steel output capacity of 55 million tons.
IMIDRO is a state-run enterprise and Iran's biggest holding company active in the mining sector.