Iran: Semi-finished steel exports drop over 15% y-o-y in first 5 months of current Persian year

Iran's semi-finished steel exports in the first five months of the current Persian year (21 March 2024-20 August 2024) stood at 2.54 million tonnes (mnt), a decrease of 18% compared to the same period last year, according to data from Petrometals.

However, exports of long products were recorded at 1.45 mn t, up by 22% y-o-y, while flat product exports fell significantly by 29% y-o-y to 138,000 tonnes (t).

The mandate that steelmakers have to supply 100% of their export currency to the NIMA system can be considered one of the major reasons for the fall in volumes. Additionally, electricity restrictions on steelmakers have weighed on production volumes and, consequently, affected billet export allocations.

Meanwhile, DRI export volumes in the period under review were recorded at 508,000 t, a fall of around 31%, y-o-y.

Outlook

Billet exporters are currently not in the mood to allocate material due to subdued demand in the market, as recent billet export tenders fetched lower bids than expected. However, recently, the Trade Development Organisation announced that exporters in the steel value chain are no longer required to submit their export currency to the NIMA system. This decision is expected to provide some relaxation to steelmakers and boost export volumes.