Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Tehran – Iran’s steel exports decreased by more than 13% in value and about 4.2% in size during the first ten months of the Persian year (began on March 20), according to the statistics of the Iranian steel producers Union, which caused the Iranian economy to pay about 10 billion dollar.
In a report entitled “Iranian steel and Afghan export”, the Persian newspaper “Economy Melli” revealed that the country’s exports of steel and iron declined by about 13% of the country’s exports of steel, compared to the same period of the last Iranian year, describing the steel sector as a engine Essential for Iran’s economy, and explaining that its exports are one of the most important ways to obtain the country’s hard currency.
The newspaper revealed that Iranian steel companies used businessmen from Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey to export their products abroad, explaining that steel exports through mediators caused negative competition in the internal markets and a decrease in companies ’profits, not to mention the non -return of export returns in the specified period within 6 months, which was reflected Other economic sectors such as petrochemicals and cement.
Economic importance
The official “IRNA” news agency quoted the general manager of the “Blessed Steel of Isfahan”, Muhammad Yasser Tayyib Nia, as saying that the value of the country’s steel exports exceeded 8 billion dollars during the last Iranian year, equivalent to 16.5% of Iran’s total exports of crude oil.
Iran is the second largest steel producer in the region, and is on the tenth position among the largest steel producers in the world, and thus this sector is at the very least – at 5% of the total local production, according to the Persian press.
In the context, the newspaper “Dunaya Economy” reported that the steel sector is ranked second after petrochemicals in the list of non -oil industries most income from the hard currency, adding that the volume of the country’s steel production is 32 million tons at the present time, while 20 million tons are consumed inside The country.
Causes
Meanwhile, Reza Shahrastani, a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Federation of Steel Producers in Iran, is accusing the previous government, as its central bank obliged the exporters to return the full returns to the central bank, but according to the pricing of the “Nima” platform for hard currency exchanges.
Shahristani explained, in an interview with the newspaper “Tragat News”, that Iranian steel companies were damaged by this policy because they pay their expenses at the free market price, at a time when the dollar is usually priced on the Nima platform 20% less than the price of the green currency in the parallel market, which made it The export of its products is useless.
The former member of the Board of Trustees of the Steel Producers Union attributed one of the reasons for the decline in the value of the national currency in his country against the US dollar to a decrease in steel exports during the recent period, and its revenues in hard currency.
He concluded by saying that a number of steel companies had to reduce their products to acquire a major share of the internal market, and this caused negative competition with other companies that have taken similar steps to empty warehouses after the accumulation of products in them.
Penalties
For his part, Spirit of God Latifi, a spokesman for the International Relations and Development of Trade Committee in the “Iranian House for Industry, Trade and Mines”, is the use of foreign traders to export Iranian steel as a natural matter to circumvent the sanctions imposed on his country, stressing that Tehran faces a fierce economic war that requires policies Economic to neutralize the challenges facing their financial exchanges.
In the opinion of Latifi – in a statement to Al -Jazeera Net – the economic authorities in Tehran have the right to compel the exporters to offer returns in the official platforms of hard currency exchanges to provide them with suppliers, explaining that the raw materials for steel and fuel companies come from the inside and at reasonable prices, and that what is said about their import of black market prices is not true.
He pointed out that some Iranian steel companies have bank accounts abroad that spare their returns in them so that they do not have to sell their difficult currency at lower prices than the black market, but this reflects negatively on the statistics of the returns of this sector, adding that some export shipments are bound by precious metals, including gold or goods Others.
Latifi continues that another part of the decline in steel exports is due to the decrease in production due to the electricity deficit during the summer and the gas deficit during the winter season, as the authorities are forced to cut it or codify it to provide fuel to the home sector.
Customs
On the extent to which Tehran’s exports of steel were affected after US President Donald Trump signed executive orders to impose customs duties by 25% on all imports of steel and aluminum to the United States from all countries without exception, economic researcher Mohsen Fateh Lahi answered in the negative.
Fath Al -Lahi said, in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, that his country exports quantities of steel to a number of regional countries, in addition to its presence in East Asian markets, and therefore there are no statistics on its solid export to Europe or the United States.
The economic researcher added that Trump’s steel war would lead to the competition of European producers of Iranian steel in regional markets or in East Asia.
