Iranian steel billet has been quietly gaining acceptance in the global market because of its attractive prices compared to material from other suppliers.
In the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-September 22, 2017), billet shipments from the country rose 25% year on year to 1.60 million tonnes, according to the Iranian Steel Producers Association, accounting for half of the country’s semi-finished steel shipments.
But Iran plans to move beyond this and export 5.30 million tonnes of semi-finished products over the 12 months to the end of the Iranian year on March 21, 2018, which would represent a 42% rise compared with the previous Iranian year’s 3.74 million tonnes.
Billet is expected to account for around 60-70% of the semi-finished exports target.
To effectively capture this shift in market dynamics Metal Bulletin is proposing to launch a weekly assessment for the Iranian billet export market starting from January 10, 2018.
But Iran plans to move beyond this and export 5.30 million tonnes of semi-finished products over the 12 months to the end of the Iranian year on March 21, 2018, which would represent a 42% rise compared with the previous Iranian year’s 3.74 million tonnes.
Billet is expected to account for around 60-70% of the semi-finished exports target.
To effectively capture this shift in market dynamics Metal Bulletin is proposing to launch a weekly assessment for the Iranian billet export market starting from January 10, 2018.