Slab, Billet Output Drives Iranian Exports

Steel products exported by Iranian suppliers over the first 10 months of the current Iranian year soared by 45% year-on-year, according to the Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organization.

The running total for the period from March 20, 2016, to January 19 this year was 4.4 million tons. 

The rise was driven by the significant growth in semi-finished steel exports, mainly slabs, to just over 3 million tons, Metal Bulletin reported citing market sources.

“The recession in the local construction market, together with constantly growing steelmaking capacities, forced suppliers to turn to exports,” one source said.

Slab exports reached an unprecedented level of 1.66 million tons during the period, against just 146,000 tons in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Hormorzgan, Khouzestan and Mobarakeh were the major exporting companies for these products.

Billet exports reached almost 1.5 million tons, with Khouzestan, Esfahan and Kish South Kaveh Steel being the major suppliers.

Traditionally, the Middle East market is the largest buyer of Iran-origin billet. However, so far this year, customers from East Asia have been active in purchasing both billet and slab. 

Iran’s total steel products’ export in the Iranian year ending March 20 is expected to be around 6 million tons, with semi-finished products making up 3.4 million tons of this figure, Metal Bulletin learnt on the sidelines of the the magazine’s 2nd Iranian Iron & Steel Conference in Isfahan.