Figures on the Arab iron and steel industry 2024

25 June 2024
1:20 am

• We have just received the latest figures on the global steel industry, published by the World Steel Organization, in addition to a number of indicators from production and consumption to environmental performance, which constitute the main interest of manufacturers and international organizations such as the OECD, World Steel, and others.

• As for the Arab region, its performance was good compared to the world (-0.1%), as the total production of crude steel reached 40 million tons in 2023, an increase of 5% compared to 2022.

• These numbers are considered encouraging, as we find two Arab countries, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which maintain their rankings among the twenty largest steel producing countries in the world for the year 2023, with a production of 10.4 million tons and 9.9 million tons, respectively.

• As for the ranking of Arab steel companies globally, Ezz Steel (Egypt) rose by 7 places between 2022 and 2023 and occupied 60th place in the world among the largest global producers with a production (6.17 million tons), and Hadeed (Saudi Arabia) ranked 68th. With a production of (5.5 million tons), Emirates Steel is ranked 105th with a production of (3.24 million tons).

• Regarding environmental performance in the Arab region, Arab companies are closer to achieving environmental transformation, as they are distinguished from others in that 67% of their production comes from the direct reduction process and 23% from electric furnaces, unlike other regions of the world that rely on the blast furnace process for more than 72%. % However, the progress of Arab companies towards this goal does not occur at the required pace and in a homogeneous manner, as we can classify Arab companies into two parts:

• The first section is led by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Oman, which are making great progress in this field, as Emirates Steel Arkan recently obtained the title of Steel Sustainability Pioneer for the year 2024 from the World Steel Organization.

• The second category is the companies that are moving at a slow pace, so that their first priority is to cover the needs of the local markets for steel products and maintain existing employment. Environmental commitment comes from the following priorities, but in the medium term, these companies will inevitably move towards environmental commitment when they export and open new markets, and therefore they should Accompanying these companies in the medium term and developing a work program to achieve the desired goal, and this is what the Technical Committee of the Arab Iron and Steel Union will propose in its 2024/2025 program.

• The members of the Arab Iron and Steel Union expressed their satisfaction and optimism during the meetings of the Board of Directors, the last General Assembly of the Union, which was held in Algiers on May 19 and 20, 2024, through the indicators of the Arab steel industry in 2023 and the prospects for 2024, despite the crises that have passed through the Arab region and the world.

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