Crude steel production increased by 17.3 percent in the first three months of 2011 compared to the figure for the same period last year.

According to the latest report by the World Steel Association, Iran’s crude steel production increased to 3.38 million tons from January 1 to March 31, Presstv reported.

Monthly crude steel production stood at 1.16 million metric tons in January, 1.05 million metric tons in February, and 1.17 million metric tons in March, the report added.

During the same period, Asia produced 237.3 million tons of crude steel, an increase of 9.1 percent over the figure for the first quarter of 2010, the EU produced 45.6 million tons, up by 6.9 percent, and North America’s production was 28.9 million tons, 6.0 percent higher than the figure for the first quarter of 2010.

In February, Minister of Industries and Mines Ali Akbar Mehrabian said that annual steel production will increase to 20 million tons in the near future.

Iran is the second biggest steel producer in the Middle East.

The main steel mills of the country are located in Isfahan and Khuzestan provinces. Market shares of major raw steel producers of Iran are: Mobarakeh Steel Mill, with approximately 47 percent, the Khuzestan Steel Company with about 23 percent, the Isfahan Foundry with about 20 percent, and the Iran National Steel Industries Group with approximately 10 percent.