KOLKATA: India ’s crude steel production went up to 111.2 million tonne (mt) in 2019, showing a 1.8 per cent rise over 2018, as Asian steel producers emerged as key drivers behind a 3.4 per cent surge in global crude steel output to 1.86 billion tonne during the year. Latest figures compiled by the Brussels-based World Steel Association said Asia produced 1.34 billion tonne of crude steel in 2019, an increase of 5.7 per cent compared to 2018.Within Asia, India and China were the two countries which posted improvement in steel output during the calendar year 2019. China’s crude steel production in 2019 reached 996.3 mt, up by 8.3 per cent over 2018. Thus, China’s share of global crude steel production increased from 50.9 per cent in 2018 to 53.3 per cent in 2019. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 99.3 mt of crude steel in 2019, down 4.8 per cent compared to 2018, while South Korea produced 71.4 mt of crude steel in 2019, a decrease of 1.4 per cent compared to 2018.The EU produced 159.4 mt of crude steel in 2019, a decrease of 4.9 per cent compared to 2018. Germany produced 39.7 mt of crude steel in 2019, a decrease of 6.5 per cent on 2018. Italy produced 23.2 mt in 2019, down by 5.2 per cent on 2018. France produced 14.5 mt of crude steel, a decrease of 6.1 per cent on 2018. Spain produced 13.6 mt of crude steel in 2019, a decrease of 5.2 per cent on 2018.Crude steel production in North America was 120 mt in 2019, 0.8 per cent lower than in 2018. The US produced 87.9 mt of crude steel, up by 1.5 per cent on 2018.The CIS produced 100.4 mt, a decrease of 0.5 per cent. Russia produced 71.6 mt of crude steel in 2019, down by 0.7 per cent on 2018. Ukraine produced 20.8 mt of crude steel in 2019, a decrease of 1.2 per cent compared to 2018.The Middle East produced 45.3 mt of crude steel in 2019, an increase of 19.2 per cent on 2018.Annual crude steel production for South America was 41.2 mt in 2019, a decrease of 8.4 per cent on 2018. Brazil produced 32.2 mt in 2019, down by 9.0 per cent compared to 2018.Turkey’s crude steel production for 2019 was 33.7 mt, down by 9.6 per cent on 2018. Africa produced 17 mt in 2019, down 2.3 per cent on 2018.