Iran boosts steel exports

Iran has boosted exports of crude steel and steel products by 64 percent in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21, 2011) compared with the corresponding period in the previous year, the English language Tehran Times daily reported Thursday. The country's steel export value reached 264.4 million U.S. dollars in the first half of the current Iranian year, said the newspaper. The managing director of Iran's largest steel maker Mobarakeh Steel Company said Tuesday that products of his company are exported to the markets of its neighbors, as well as to Syria and Venezuela. Mohammad Masoud Samieenejad told Xinhua that "there are many offers for investment and one of them is for investment in basic materials for Iran's steel industry, especially for Mobarakeh Steel Company." Samieenejad said negotiations on a joint project are underway to launch plants to produce basic materials with the participation of foreign investors. In May, Iran reported that its crude steel production increased by 17.3 percent in the first three months of 2011 compared with the corresponding period in the previous year. Iran's crude steel production increased to 3.38 million tons from Jan. 1 to March 31. As a major steel producer in the region, Iran has boosted its steel mills to different parts of the country in recent years, with central Isfahan and southwestern Khouzestan provinces remaining the major steel producers in the country.