Arab Steel reported that Mr Mohamed Laid Lachgar secretary general of Arab Iron & Steel Union emphasized the importance of having Arab companies with capacities reaching 5 million or even 10 million tonne per year of finished iron and steel products, as the global trend for the expansion in this industry goes through the achievement of mergers and not through fragmentation.

Mr Lachgar said to Tishreen on the occasion of opening the new office of the Arab Iron & Steel Union in Damascus that was attended by many member companies of the Union said that the Arab steel industry has developed in the past years and the Arab steel companies' output of steel increased from nearly 1.5 million tonne per year in the early 1960s to reach 25 million tonne per year nowadays of finished products, covering almost 54% of the overall apparent consumption of finished products that was around 46 million tonnes in 2008.

(Sourced from Arab Steel)