More than 450,000 tons of steel ingot were exported by Khuzestan Steel Company in the first four months of the current Iranian year (started March 21), indicating a 215% increase, said the managing director of the company, Abdolmajid Sharifi. “Khuzestan Steel Company ranks first among Iran’s steel exporters, with products exported to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Thailand, Oman, Egypt and Sudan via Imam Khomeini Port,” Eghtesad News quoted Sharifi as saying. The company also produced more than 2 million tons of iron pellets and 1 million tons of sponge iron in the same four-month period, indicating increases of 15% and 14% respectively. The official pointed to the drop in steel prices and demand and the excessive amount of imports as issues hampering the domestic steel industry. He called on the government to step up its support by increasing import tariffs on steel products entering the country.
