TEHRAN, Feb. 15 (MNA) – Keynote speakers at the 7th Iranian Steel Market Conference unanimously agree that, despite challenges, the Iranian market holds a prosperous future.
The 7th Iranian Steel Market Conference got underway in Tehran on Tuesday with presence of with presence of participants from the US, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, UK, France, Austria, Sweden, India, Turkey and Russia among the others.
The two-day event aims to shed light on major issues at stake in the Iranian steel market including competitiveness based on cost price, export requirements and regional markets for local products as well as predicting price of steel products and raw materials in the upcoming Iranian year.
The opening ceremony saw informative presentations by Iranian and foreign authorities like Iranian Minister of Industries, Mines and Trade Mohammadreza Nematzadeh, Head of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Mehdi Karbasian, IME CEO Hamed Soltaninejad, Managing Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (abbreviated RAI) Saeid Mohammadzadeh in addition to CEOs from Italy’s Danielli, Germany’s SMS Group, Spain’s Sarralle, Austria’s INTECO, Turkish Steel Association.
Speakers at the conference agreed on the fact that Iran holds numerous opportunities for completing the steel industry supply chain as evidenced by recent developments in the field.
For instance, IMIDRO Head Karbasian noted that Iran produced 14.5 million tons of sponge iron in 2016 to stay at the top of producers of this type of iron in the world.
According to the latest report published by the World Steel Association, Iran produced 17.89 million tons of crude steel in 2016, registering an 11-percent growth compared to the figure in 2015.
Meanwhile, the country’s annual crude steel output is planned to reach 55 million tons according to its outlook plan for 2025.