AHVAZ, Khuzestan Province Khuzestan Steel Complex had a 17.4 percent increase in output during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (starting March 21), said a plant's official on Monday.

Speaking to IRNA, Public Relations Office Manager of the Steel Manufacturing Plant Rasoul Saei put the company's output during this period at 417,805 tons, noting that the figure for the same period last year was 355,739 tons.

During the first three months, the company also exported some 817,079 tons of semi-processed steel, showing 20.3 percent increase compared to the previous year's corresponding figure.

He also said the company's production of spongy iron during the three-month period was 541,650 tons, adding that, "It shows a 30-percent growth compared to that for the year before which stood at 415,632 tons."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official noted that during the same quarter, the company exported some 190,172 tons of different steel products worth $30 million to foreign countries which, he said, increased 103 percent compared to the last year's rate.