News in Brief
Iran’s economic growth at 7%: PBO
The head of Iran’s Plan and Budget Organization (PBO) said on Friday that with the efforts made by the incumbent government, Iran’s economic growth has reached seven percent, from zero and negative values registered two years ago.
The country’s economic growth reached 7% in the first six months of this year (started March 21, 2023), said Davoud Manzour, according to IRNA.
The government has plans to identify the obstacles facing producers, the PBO head noted, saying that the main problem of producers is sales and marketing.
Every year about $15 billion worth of agricultural products are imported, Manzour said, adding that most of the imported products can be produced in Iran.
Over 24m tons of steel produced in nine months
Iran’s major steel mills have produced 24.49 million tons of steel ingot and 16.63 million tons of various types of steel products in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-December 21, 2023).
Statistics show that the production of steel ingot and various types of steel products in the country grew by three percent and about 0.25 percent, respectively, compared to the preceding year’s corresponding period, reported Tasnim News Agency.
Meanwhile, Iran has produced 44.84 million tons of iron ore pellets, showing a 10 percent hike compared to the same period in 2022.
The major Iranian steel production companies have also exported 5.62 million tons of steel ingot and 2.48 million tons of various types of steel products in the nine-month period.
The report added that 7.22 million tons of iron ore pellets and 1.21 million tons of sponge iron were exported by Iran between March 21 and December 22, 2023, showing a 97 and 93 percent growth, respectively.