The World Steel Association has introduced Iran as the world’s 14th biggest producer of steel in its latest report.
According to the report, Iran’s crude steel production totaled 16.33 million metric tons in 2014, indicating a 6 percent growth compared to last year, Eghtesadnews reported.
The volume of Iran’s steel production in the previous year had placed it as the world’s 15th largest steelmaker.
Iran had produced 15.422 million tons of crude steel in 2013, which indicated a 6.6% growth compared with 2012.
The increase in the volume of steel production in the past two years comes as Iran's steel sector, like many other industries, has been under tight economic sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council over Tehran's nuclear energy program. Iranian steel companies are faced with a multitude of problems in import of machinery and equipment.
China, with 882 million tons per year is the largest global producer of crude steel, followed by Japan with 110 million tons of annual production.
Iran aims to become the world's 6th or 7th steel producer within the next decade. Based on the country's 20-year Vision Plan, Iran should be producing 55 million tons of crude steel per annum by 2025.
Comprehensive Steel Plan
To meet the target, officials in the ministry of industry, mine, and trade as well as those in the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) have a comprehensive steel plan aimed at facilitating steel projects and attracting domestic and foreign investments.
According to deputy minister of industry, mines and trade Mehdi Karbasian, "the revised comprehensive steel plan has been proposed to the ministry and is pending enforcement," Mehr news agency report on Saturday.
Karbasian added that the IMIDRO, as the country's major state-owned holding company active in the mining sector, has provided 200 trillion rials ($7.28 billion based on official exchange rate) in investment in the steel sector.
"The main objective in the comprehensive steel plan is to achieve the 55 million tons of steel production by 2025 through drafting detailed plans for all sectors involved in the steel production chain; including iron ore, iron ore concentrate, iron ore pellet, steel, and the direct-reduced iron (DRI) known as sponge iron," Karbasian informed.
ISMC 2015
The iron ore sector in Iran has been grappling with serious challenges during the past decade. The issue of iron ore sector and many other aspects of the steel industry will be discussed in depth during the 5th Steel Market Conference (ISMC 2015) to be held in Tehran on January 27-28.
The finalized comprehensive steel plan as well as the strategic document for iron ore is set to be officially unveiled in ISMC 2015 in which giant Iranian and foreign companies will be participating.
One of the most prominent steel industry conferences in Iran, ISMC will also focus on the short-term, medium-term, and long-term future outlooks of the steel industry, said Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade, Mohammad-Reza Nematzadeh in a meeting with the ISMC 2015 managing committee.
The two-day event will host three giant steel companies including the Italian Danieli, one of the three largest suppliers of equipment and plants in the metal industry, the German SMS Group, a global leader in plant and mechanical construction for metallurgical process chain, and the Spanish Sarralle, specialized in engineering, design and manufacture of heavy equipment, according to Mohsen Parvan, the secretary of ISMC 2015.
