Steel production value in GCC countries 2020, by country

In 2020, the value of steel production among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries was highest in Saudi Arabia, at about 1.36 billion U.S. dollars. The United Arab Emirates followed with a steel production value of approximately 1.14 billion U.S. dollars.

Steel and growth

While Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have their unique economic climate, in aggregate, we can say that they are characterized by high economic growth, urbanization, and major infrastructure projects. Such economic conditions are intrinsically entangled with the availability of steel since the distribution of steel end-use is largely concentrated on the building and infrastructure sectors. Thereby, the steel industry in the GCC countries plays a significant economic role. Steel production in GCC countries is reliant on raw material imports such as iron ore. For instance, Oman was listed among the leading iron ore-importing countries worldwide in 2021. Iron ore prices worldwide thus have an essential influence on the steel industry costs in the GCC countries.

Crude steel production in GCC countries

Crude steel is a semi-finished material that is further refined per purpose into desired steel products. Therefore, crude steel production is closely related to steel production. In recent years, the overall crude steel production in the GCC countries has been stagnant or has slightly dropped. The production volume of the steel sector in the GCC countries decreased from 4.1 million metric tons in 2015 to 3.3 million metric tons of steel in 2020. The production of crude steel in Saudi Arabia was an exception to the overall trend in the GCC countries. The reason for this is that the crude steel production in Saudi Arabia has experienced a rise rather than a stagnation or a reduction in production in recent years.