Iran's finished steel imports down 2% y-o-y in H1 of current Persian year

Iran's finished steel imports in the first six months (21 March-20 September, 2024) of the current Persian year stood at 0.76 million tonnes (mnt), a marginal drop of 2% compared to the same period of last year, according to data from the Iranian Steel Producers Association (ISPA).

Imports of long products were recorded at 52,000 tonnes (t), down by 7% y-o-y, while flat products' import volumes decreased 2% y-o-y to 0.71 mnt.

Imports of semi-finished steel products totalled 3.2 mnt, a two-fold y-o-y rise in the period under review.

Outlook

Iran's finished steel import volumes are likely to rebound, given the ongoing challenges faced by domestic steel mills, particularly due to gas supply limitations.

In addition, the Iranian government's continued restrictions on electricity usage, driven by power shortage, are expected to further constrain production capacities. These factors may push mills to rely heavily on imports, BigMint believes.