A group of Iranian steelmakers and industry officials are traveling to China to attend an international conference on iron ore, which is steel industry’s unequalled raw material. A member of the delegation, which includes only private sector industrialists, is going to give a speech at the event.
Keyvan Jafari says in his speech at the conference, he will explain the current situation of the iron ore extraction in Iran, the iron and steel value chain, and future plans for increasing Iran’s iron ore granules output.
The three-day international iron conference will kick off today in the Chinese city of Dalian.
The Iranian delegation also plans to invite Chinese companies to invest in extraction of iron ore and iron granules in Iran. The two sides are also expected to sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at easing bilateral iron ore trade.
“An agreement between iron ore producers from Iran and China will be a very helpful step as it can remove any problem or ambiguity that may arise when it comes to official trade of raw materials,” said Jafari, who is a member of Iran’s iron ore producers and manufacturers association.
As the world’s 15th biggest steelmaker, Iran is the 5th largest iron exporter to China. Official estimates put the total amount of Iran’s iron ore reserves at 5.1 billion tons.
Iron Ore Market “Manipulation”
Jafari believes that China, together with Australia – one of the largest iron ore suppliers in the world – is manipulating the prices for their own benefit. “While the fair rate at the global market is estimated at 80 dollars per ton, right now, iron ore is being traded at 45 dollars a ton, which many regard as an artificial price,” Jafari said.