Iran up to ninth in world ranking of steel producers in January

Iran has moved up one position to ninth in the world’s ranking of largest steel producers in January, according to figures by World Steel Association (worldsteel).

The figures covered in a Thursday report by IRNA showed that Iran had produced a total of 2.7 million metric tons (mt) of raw steel in January.

Worldsteel figures showed that Iran’s steel output had increased by 27.7% from January 2022, the largest increase reported by the top 10 steel manufacturers in the world.

Only Iran and China has reported year on year increases in production in January with other eight producers reporting declines in output, showed the figures.

Iran was the world’s 10th largest steel producer in December after it had moved up for a first time to the seventh position of the global ranking with a record output of 2.9 million mt in November.

Steelmakers in Iran had started to post historic rises in output as of mid-summer last year. Figures by state metals and mining company IMIDRO released at the end of August showed Iran’s steel production had risen by 65% compared with August 2021.

A global crunch for steel because of the war in Ukraine has caused a major increase in the number of orders placed for Iranian-made steel in Europe.

ME