Iran’s steel sector is a major source of revenue for the Iranian government. The country’s steel industry produced 13.4  per cent more crude steel during the year 2020 over the same period the previous year, according to the World Steel Association (WSA), making Iran the world’s 11th largest crude steel producer.       However, the United States, last month, sanctioned entities and individuals associated with Iran’s steel industry, the latest move in a US campaign against Tehran in the waning days of Donald Trump’s presidency, VOA reported.

The US blacklisted a Chinese company that makes elements for steel production, 12 Iranian steel and metals makers and three foreign-based sales agents of a Iranian metals and mining holding company, seeking to deprive Iran of revenues.

In a statement, the US Treasury Department named the China-based company as Kaifeng Pingmei New Carbon Materials Technology Co Ltd, saying it specialised in the manufacture of carbon materials and provided thousands of metric tonnes of materials to Iranian steel companies between December 2019 and June 2020.

The Treasury Department said the company sold materials and equipment to a steel company in Iran through an Iranian trading firm between December 2019 and June 2020. The company was targeted “for having materially assisted, sponsored or provided financial, material or technological support for, or goods or services in support of Iranian steelmaker Pasargad Steel Complex.”

Iran’s steel sector is a major source of revenue for the Iranian government

Among the 12 Iranian companies blacklisted are the Pasargad Steel Complex and the Gilan Steel Complex Co, both of which were designated under Executive Order 13871 for operating in the Iranian steel sector.

The others are: Iran-based Middle East Mines and Mineral Industries Development Holding Co (MIDHCO), Khazar Steel Co, Vian Steel Complex, South Rouhina Steel Complex, Yazd Industrial Constructional Steel Rolling Mill, West Alborz Steel Complex, Esfarayen Industrial Complex, Bonab Steel Industry Complex, Sirjan Iranian Steel and Zarand Iranian Steel Co.

The Treasury said it was also designating MIDHCO’s Germany-based subsidiary GMI Projects Hamburg GmbH, its China-based World Mining Industry Co Ltd and UK-based GMI Projects Ltd for being owned or controlled by MIDHCO.

“The Trump Administration remains committed to denying revenue flowing to the Iranian regime as it continues to sponsor terrorist groups, support oppressive regimes, and seek weapons of mass destruction,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

The department said it also targeted nine other Iranian steelmakers and Majid Sajdeh, an executive with the Iran-based Hafez Darya Arya Shipping Company, a subsidiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines. 

Iran’s steel sector is a major source of revenue for the Iranian government. The country’s steel industry produced 13.4  per cent more crude steel during the year 2020 over the same period the previous year, according to the World Steel Association (WSA), making Iran the world’s 11th largest crude steel producer.

It is while the crude steel output in the world has decreased 0.9 per cent year over year to 1.86 billion metric tonnes (mt).

The WSA’s report said that Iran has produced 26.369 mt of crude steel during the 11-month period of 2020, while the figure was 23 mt in the same time span of 2019.

The country’s monthly crude steel output stood at 2.575 million tonnes in November 2020, rising 14 per cent from 2.256 million tonnes in November 2019.

Meanwhile, the recent data released by the Iranian sources shows that production of steel ingot in the country has increased 8.3 per cent during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-December 20, 2020) compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Over 21.65 mtt of steel ingot was produced during the nine-month period of the present year, while the figure was 19.98 mt in the same time span of the previous year.

Production of steel ingot in Iran is expected to surpass 30 mt in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20), Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Darioush Esmaili has announced. Saying that Iran is currently the world’s 11th biggest steel producer, the official underscored that the country is planning to rise to 8th place by the Iranian calendar year 1404 (starts in March 2025).

Iran is currently the world’s 11th biggest steel producer

Steel products output UP

Iran posted the largest increase, with production climbing about 13.4 per cent year over year to an estimated 29 million mt in 2020.

Production of steel products in Iran rose 9.5 per cent during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year, as compared with the corresponding period in the past year, according to the data released by the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry. The ministry’s data put the country’s steel products output at 19.1 mt in the nine-month period of this year, while the figure was 17.5 mt in the same time span of the previous year.

Iran’s export of steel products in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19, 2020) rose 27 per cent compared to its preceding year. The country’s major steel producers managed to export about 7.33 mt of the products in the previous year.

Iranian government levied a 25-per cent duty on the exports of raw minerals (especially iron ore) since late September 2019, as the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has urged the government to prevent the exports of raw minerals in order to be processed in the country for making products with more added value. The industry ministry believes that the duty is going to encourage the production of more processed minerals such as pellets and concentrate instead of selling the raw minerals.

Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Darioush Esmaili has said that while 10 years ago Iran exported more than 20 mt of unprocessed iron ore, the figure fell to six mt last year.

Exports rise

Meanwhile, Iranian steelmakers exported more than 5.6 mt of steel ingots during the nine months of the current Iranian year, Iran Daily newspaper reported.

Quoting the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), it said that the worth of exported material amounted to $2.1 billion.

Based on the report, a total of 839,000 tonnes of steel products worth $354 million were exported by Iranian steel plants during November 21 to December 20, 2020. According to the data provided by Trade Map website, Iran was ranked 19th among the world’s top steel ingot exporters while taking 53rd place for the exports of steel products in 2019. As per the mentioned website, in 2019, Iran ranked 159th among the world’s top 196 countries in terms of importing crude steel (ingots).

The country ranked 53rd among 195 countries in the exports of steel products and it was ranked 85th out of 226 countries in global imports of steel products.

Based on the mentioned data, Iranian imports of crude steel and steel products in 2019 stood at $42 million and $302 million, respectively. The country exported $312 million and $252 million worth of crude steel and steel products in the mentioned year, respectively.

Last year, the total production of crude steel (ingots) in Iran stood at 26.8 mt and the total volume of steel products output reached 20.6 mt, according to the mentioned website.