Iran produced over 7.74 million tons of crude steel in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, IRNA reported on Saturday.

The output rose 2 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.

Iran produced 1.292 million tons of crude steel in August 2013, up 13.2 percent compared to August 2012, the World Steel Association said in its latest press release.�IThe country’s total output in the first seven months of 2013 amounted to 8.662 million tons.



World crude steel production in August 2013 amounted to 130.352 million tons, an increase of 5.2 percent compared to the same month in 2012.



Asia showed an increase of 5.6 percent while the EU producers recorded a minus 4.9 percent growth in the mentioned period of time.



China’s crude steel production for August 2013 was 66.27 million tons, up by 12.8 percent compared to August 2012. Iran’s crude steel production reached 14.89 million tons in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20.



Iran plans to increase its annual steel output to 55 million tons by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2015).