According to Mining News Pro - “Because of domestic steel production, cheap workforce, the abundance of energy resource and raw materials, the imperative is done in commodity exchange,” Mansour Yazdizade said.

“Esfahan Steel is the only company in Iran that uses blast furnace method to produce steel which causes more financial benefit for the company. Our main problem is the raw material supply. Indeed, no manufacturer should be concerned about the supply of raw materials,” he emphasized.

Yazdizade believes that the ministry’s new apportionment helps producers to supply their raw material easier.

“40% of ESCO’s capacity depends on the iron ore supply. Iron ore is currently being exported for its profitability, while it can become a high value-added product in our company.”

“In the current situation where we are facing sanctions and the spread coronavirus, the steel industry will face a crisis in a condition that they are not able to export. Fortunately, our problems are mainly because of domestic regulations, not sanctions.”

Yazdizade said that imperative pricing has failed before and doesn’t have anything but putting pressure on the producer. In fact, the consumer does not benefit from the strategy.