Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17
By Umid Niayesh- Trend:
The dip in the Islamic Republic's oil revenue indirectly adds pressure to the country's steel industry, Mohammad Khazami, head of marketing and market research at Khouzestan Oxin Steel Company, told Trend on Nov. 17.
He made these remarks while responding to a question on the decline in steel output in the country.
As a result of sanctions, which led to the drop in Iran's oil revenues, the administration was forced to cut its construction budget, Khazami stated, adding that this move had significantly reduced demand in the steel market since the country's main projects in various sectors, including oil, gas, and construction, were being conducted by the government.
Over 8.2 million tons of crude steel was produced in Iran during the first half of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21- Sept. 22), a fall of 1.8 percent year-on-year.
The Islamic Republic's crude steel output reached 16.33 million metric tons in 2014, with Iran being the 14th major crude steel producer in the world.
Khazami further touched upon the fall in steel prices on the global market, saying the dip in oil prices and weak economic growth in new economic powers such as China had impacted the global steel price.
"However, we are also currently witnessing higher import tariffs being imposed on Chinese steel by various countries."
Chinese producers are dumping steel products on overseas markets, that is, not just selling them cheaply, taking advantage of their lower production costs, but actually selling products at a loss to destroy the steel industry in other countries, he remarked, adding that this had forced these countries to resort to an anti-dumping steel import tax increase.
Khazami also noted that China was supplying the market, which was already suffering the effects of stagnation due to the surplus output of 100 million tons from 2014, at low prices.
Khazami, who is visiting Baku to seek trade opportunities in Azerbaijan, said Khouzestan Oxin Steel Company employs advanced technology and can meet the demands of the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries as well as the shipbuilding and construction sectors in Azerbaijan.
The company manufactures and markets steel products, including foil, wide plates, and rolled plates that can be used in heavy industries such as oil, gas, petrochemicals, maritime, and car manufacturing, he added.
The company's representatives took part in a meeting on Nov. 16 in Baku in which they discussed economic relations with Azerbaijani businessmen.
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