Iran produced over five million tons of crude steel during the first four months of this year, which began on March 20, showing a 7.6 percent growth year on year, the IRIB reported on Wednesday.

The output stood at 1.909 million tons in the fourth month (ended on July 21), according to the report.

Iranian Deputy Industry Minister Vajihollah Jafari said on April 9 that the country’s annual crude steel output is projected to reach 55 million tons by 2025.

“The output stood at 12.7 million tons last year,” he said, adding that Iran also had produced some 16 million tons of steel products.

Iran will become one of the world’s main steel exporters by March 2016, Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said in May 2011.

Iran will be a self-sufficient steel producer in the next three years, the vice chairman of the Association of Iranian Steel Producers Hamidreza Taherizadeh said on July 31.

He told the Fars News Agency that despite global economic sanctions, the country’s steel output increased by 5 million tons during the past two years, reaching 17 million tons.