Steel prices in Iraq — what was actually paid in 2024
Almost everything in the Iraqi tables arrived by truck. The Habur crossing dominates the supply structure so completely that the partner tables read as a single lane, and prices here should be understood as delivered numbers with road freight and border cost already inside them rather than as a market rate.
Last updated
Computed straight from Iraq's filings — declared value over declared net mass, one year at a time. How it is done and where it breaks down →
- 927,038 tsteel imported (2024)
- 0 tsteel exported
- Net importer927,038 t short
Imports
What Iraq imported and what it paid, 2024
| HS | Product | Tonnes | USD/tonne | Value (USD m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7214 | Hot-rolled bar | 536,440 | 475 | 254.6 |
| 7216 | Angles, shapes and sections | 193,259 | 324 | 62.5 |
| 7208 | Hot-rolled coil and plate | 106,296 | 1,455 | 154.6 |
| 7210 | Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) | 42,746 | 727 | 31.1 |
| 7217 | Wire | 32,584 | 434 | 14.1 |
| 730630 | Welded tube, circular, non-alloy | 14,948 | 1,077 | 16.1 |
| 730661 | Welded hollow section, square and rectangular | 617 | 854 | 0.5 |
| 7212 | Narrow coated strip | 73 | 790 | 0.1 |
| 7213 | Wire rod | 70 | 3,037 | 0.2 |
| 7209 | Cold-rolled sheet | 5 | 3,364 | 0.0 |
Exports
No export rows are published for Iraq in 2024.
What the Iraq numbers say
- The spread in Iraq runs from angles, shapes and sections at 324 USD per tonne up to cold-rolled sheet at 3,364, a factor of 10.4. In an almost entirely import-fed market that range is the product mix arriving by truck.
- Hot-rolled bar accounts for 58 % of everything imported here, which fits a construction-led demand profile.
- Supply is concentrated: Iran alone accounts for 82 % of the top five lanes.
Buying and selling into Iraq
- Iraq imports nearly all of its steel and buys overwhelmingly by truck from Türkiye through the Habur–Ibrahim Khalil crossing, which is why the trade statistics show Türkiye as the dominant partner across almost every heading.
- Overland delivery to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah is three to five days from the Dilovası belt; Baghdad and the south add two to three more and a security escort on some routes.
- Payment is usually advance or cash against documents rather than letter of credit, and DAP is the normal Incoterm because the buyer rarely wants to handle the border.
- Roofing sheet, hollow sections and rebar dominate the volume; high-specification flat products are a small share.
Main supplying countries
Hot-rolled bar (HS 7214)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Iran | 439,857 | 445 |
| Saudi Arabia | 93,033 | 596 |
| China | 1,668 | 991 |
| United Arab Emirates | 1,060 | 901 |
| Partner 699 | 363 | 1,445 |
Angles, shapes and sections (HS 7216)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Iran | 182,974 | 254 |
| China | 7,004 | 1,837 |
| Jordan | 2,178 | 789 |
| Partner 699 | 843 | 1,488 |
| Kuwait | 95 | 453 |
Hot-rolled coil and plate (HS 7208)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| China | 81,492 | 1,455 |
| Oman | 14,758 | 1,894 |
| Iran | 8,214 | 410 |
| United Arab Emirates | 708 | 3,467 |
| Hong Kong | 374 | 3,000 |
Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) (HS 7210)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Iran | 34,850 | 100 |
| China | 7,236 | 3,061 |
| Korea, Rep. | 610 | 8,823 |
| Russia | 25 | 100 |
| United Arab Emirates | 23 | 1,166 |
Buying into Iraq?
Deliveries into Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad are quoted DAP with the border handled at our end. Tell us the destination city and the load, and the price is landed.
How Iraq import values moved, 2021–2024
Declared import unit value by heading and year, USD per tonne
| Year | Hot-rolled bar | Angles, shapes and sections | Steel wire | Welded tube, circular |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 473 | 403 | 311 | 1,103 |
| 2022 | 492 | 409 | 271 | — |
| 2023 | 434 | 260 | 474 | 505 |
| 2024 | 475 | 324 | 434 | 1,077 |
Read down for a year and across for the range of products. Headings with fewer than three reported years are left out, and the columns are not combined into an average, because the products behind them are not comparable. A cell far from its neighbours reflects what was declared under that code, not a data error.
Other markets
Questions about steel prices in Iraq
What does steel cost in Iraq?
Customs unit values put hot-rolled coil imports into Iraq at 1,455 USD per tonne in 2024. Iraq imports nearly all of its flat product, and the numbers include both Kurdistan Region and federal entries, which clear through different administrations.
Do Iraq and the Kurdistan Region clear customs the same way?
No. They operate separate customs administrations with different procedures and, in practice, different lead times. Ask which one a quotation assumes before comparing landed costs.
Is pre-shipment inspection required for Iraq?
Yes for many product categories: a Certificate of Conformity issued before shipment under the applicable conformity programme. Arranging it after loading is the most common cause of delay at the border.
How does steel reach Iraq from Türkiye?
By road through the Habur crossing for the north, and by sea to Umm Qasr for the south. Road is faster and simpler for Kurdistan Region destinations; sea is usually cheaper per tonne for Basra and the centre.