A total of 11.69 million tons worth $7.41 billion of steel were exported to 59 countries in fiscal 2021-22 (ended March 20), according to the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO).
China with 3.54 million tons worth $2.02 billion, accounted for 30.3% of Iran’s total exports in weight and 27.3% in value to top the list of export destinations.
It was followed by Iraq with 1.9 million tons (16.3%) worth $1.26 billion (17%), Indonesia with 1.7 million tons (14.5%) worth $1.09 billion (14.8%), Thailand with 1.17 million tons (10%) worth $750.12 million (10.1%) and the UAE with 724,170 tons (6.2%) worth $544.35 million (7.3%).
The Iranian Steel Producers Association earlier reported that 7.68 million tons of semi-finished steel products were exported from Iran in the fiscal 2021-22, up 25% compared with the previous year.
Billet and bloom had the lion’s share of semis exports with an aggregate of 5.1 million tons, up 12% compared with the previous year’s corresponding period.
Slab exports amounted to 2.58 million tons during the period, up 62% year-on-year.
Exports of finished steel products grew by 20% to 3.4 million tons during the period.
Rebar accounted for the largest portion of finished steel products exported from Iran during the period, with 2.5 million tons. The total volume of Iran’s rebar exports experienced a 36% growth compared with the same period of last year.
Beam exports amounted to 145,000 tons during the period under review, down 15% YOY.
About 200,000 tons of L-beam, T-beam and other types were exported from Iran during the period, up 6% YOY.
Hot-rolled coil exports amounted to 433,000 tons, registering a 20% decline compared with the year before.
Cold-rolled coil with 17,000 tons registered a 35% decline year-on-year and coated coil with 115,000 tons, up 46% YOY, was the other finished steel product exported from Iran.
Exports of direct-reduced iron increased by 25% YOY to 1.06 million tons, ISPA figures show.
According to IMIDRO, Khouzestan Steel Company exported 2.05 million tons of steel products during the period to register a 37% year-on-year rise and top the list of Iranian exporters.
KSC's exports in the 12th month of the last year stood at 454,815 tons, 225% higher compared with the same period of last year.
Mobarakeh Steel Company came next with 1.26 tons of exports during the 12-month period, up 1% YOY.
MSC exported 228,404 tons of steel products in the 12th month of the previous fiscal, down 50% YOY. It was followed by Esfahan Steel Company with 1.12 tons of exports, 16% higher YOY.
The company's exports during the month ending March 20 stood at 81,867 tons, 1% less YOY.
Khorasan Steel Company’s rebar registered the highest growth of 604% in export volume with 78,801 tons during the 12-month period. Khorasan Steel Company’s monthly rebar exports also registered the highest growth in terms of volume, with 6,801 tons of exports, up 293% YOY.
13% Decline in Finished, 20% Rise in Semis Imports
According to ISPA, imports of finished steel decreased by 13% YOY to 778,000 tons during the same period.
The imports mostly included HRC with 140,000 tons, down 59%; CRC with 264,000 tons, down 1% compared with the year before; coated coil with 224,000, up 7%; L-beam, T-beam and other types with 38,000 tons, down 12% YOY; rebar with 32,000 tons, up 19% year-on-year and beam with 17,000 tons, up 70%.
Semi-finished steel imports made up 6,000 tons of the total import volume, up 20% YOY.
Iran imported 2,000 tons of billet and bloom in the period, down 50% YOY. Slab imports stood at 4,000 tons, up 300% from last year's same period.
Iran did not import direct-reduced iron during the period under review.
Decline in Output
ISPA says the output of semi-finished products stood at 27.9 million tons in the fiscal 2021-22 (ended March 20), 8% less compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Billet and bloom made up 16.66 million tons of total semi-finished production, down 11% year-on-year.
Slab output reached 11.24 million tons to register a 2% YOY decline.
The output of finished steel decreased by 5% during the same period to 19.64 million tons.
Long steel products had a 11.21-million-ton share in the output of finished steel products, posting a 3% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
Rebar production stood at 9.15 million tons (down 4% YOY). It was followed by beams with 1.22 million tons (down 2% YOY) and L-beam, T-beam and other types with 837,000 tons (up 1% YOY).
Production of flat steel with 8.49 million tons registered an 8% YOY decrease.
Hot-rolled coil comprised 8.29 million tons in this category, showing a 6% YOY decline, followed by cold-rolled coil with 2.59 million tons, unchanged YOY, and coated coil with 1.5 million tons, up 2% compared with last year’s corresponding period.
The output of direct-reduced iron stood at 30.33 million tons during the period under review, down 3% YOY.
According to IMIDRO, Mobarakeh Steel Company produced 9.34 million tons of semi-finished products during the period, down 5% year-on-year.
The steelmaker also produced 7.76 million tons of finished steel during the period, down 3% YOY.
In terms of semis production, MSC was followed by Khuzestan Steel Company with 3.33 million tons of output in the year under review.
Esfahan Steel Company came next with 2.4 million tons of semis output and was followed by South Kaveh Steel Company with 1.44 million tons, Chadormalu Steel Company with 1.05 tons and Sirjan Steel Company with 872,088 tons during the period under review.
In terms of finished products, MSC was followed by ESCO with 2.32 million tons. Other key producers of finished products were Kavir Steel Company, Oxin Steel Company, Khorasan Steel Company, Bonab Sheet Company, Azarbaijan Steel Company and Sirjan Steel Company.
MSC also topped the list of Iranian steelmakers both in semi-finished and finished steel production during the month to March 20 by producing 857,273 and 647,353 tons of semis and finished steel products respectively.
Apparent Usage Down 10% for Finished Products, 16% for Semis
Iran’s apparent steel usage registered a decline in the fiscal 2021-22 compared with the year before.
Apparent steel usage is defined as production plus imports minus exports, sometimes also adjusted for changes in inventories.
The apparent usage totaled 17.01 million tons for finished products, posting a 10% year-on-year decrease, according to the Iranian Steel Producers Association.
Long steel products accounted for the largest portion of finished steel consumption with 8.45 million tons, down 11% YOY.
Rebar grabbed the biggest share in this section with 6.68 million tons, down 13% YOY, followed by beams with 1.09 million tons (up 1% YOY) and L-beam, T-beam and other types with 675,000 tons (down 2% compared with the same period of last fiscal year).
Flat steel products accounted for 8.42 million tons of finished steel apparent usage, down 7% YOY.
Among flat steel products, hot-rolled coil had the biggest share of apparent usage with 8 million tons (down 7% YOY), followed by cold-rolled coil with 2.84 million tons (unchanged YOY) and coated coil with 1.41 million tons (down 1% compared with the same period of last year).
The apparent usage stood at 20.23 million tons for semi-finished products, registering a 12% decline compared with last year's corresponding period.
The apparent usage of billet and bloom amounted to 11.57 million tons, down 19% compared with the same period of last year. The use of slab also decreased by 12% to 8.66 million tons during the period.
DRI usage stood at 29.27 million tons during the period under review, down 4% YOY.
