Crude steel production in the Middle East dropped by 5.7pct YoY to 18.4 mln tons during the first four months of 2025, according to the World Steel Association. Despite the overall decline, April showed early signs of recovery, with output rising 2.2pct YoY to 5.2 mln tons. The Middle East region includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Yemen.
In contrast, Africa’s crude steel output increased by 4pct YoY to 7.7 mln tons from January to April 2025. Production in April alone rose 6.3pct to 1.9 mln tons. The figures cover Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and South Africa.
Turkey, the world’s seventh-largest steel producer, reported a slight 1pct YoY decline in production during the same period, totaling 12.3 mln tons. However, April output rebounded strongly, rising 7pct YoY to 3 mln tons.
Iran, ranked tenth globally, saw an 8pct decline in production to 10.6 mln tons from January to April. Yet, in April, output grew 4.6pct YoY, reaching 3.3 mln tons.
Globally, crude steel production edged down by 0.4pct YoY to 624.4 mln tons in the first four months of 2025. April’s global output slipped slightly by 0.3pct to 155.7 mln tons.
China, the world’s largest steel producer, posted a modest 0.4pct YoY increase in production to 345.4 mln tons from January to April. April output remained flat at 86 mln tons.
India continued its strong upward trajectory, with production rising 6.9pct YoY to 53.2 mln tons in the first four months of 2025. April output climbed 5.6pct to 12.9 mln tons. Japan experienced a notable decline, with production falling 5.3pct YoY to 27 mln tons from January to April. April output dropped further by 6.4pct, totaling 6.6 mln tons.