Iran Mulls Ban or Tariffs on Iron Ore Exports

The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade is planning to either ban or set heavy tariffs on iron ore exports in the next Iranian year (starting March 20), says Deputy Minister Dariush Esmaeili.
According to the official, the ministry is pursuing plans to prevent the export of iron ores next year.
“We need iron ores to realize the goal of producing 55 million tons of steel [per year], for which we need 160 million tons of iron ore,” he told Shata news agency, affiliated with the Industries Ministry.
The ministry began imposing 20-25% duties on the export of unprocessed minerals as of Sept. 23.
According to former deputy industries minister, Jafar Sarqeini, the decision is aimed at supporting domestic production, preventing export of unprocessed minerals and generating more value-added.
Iron ore is at the forefront of the new restrictive measure, as experts warn Iran is facing a shortage of iron ore to feed its steel industries in the near future.
The export duty on iron ore concentrates and pellets stands at 25%.