JEDDAH, 22 March 2004 — The Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed) will stop exports by the middle of this year in a bid to focus on local demand and prevent the emergence of a black market here. Ibrahim Al-Rashid, director general for commercial affairs, said the company would not sign any new export deals. “Hadeed’s prices are still lower compared to world prices,” the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat quoted him as saying after a meeting with construction contractors in Jeddah. Hadeed wants to maintain the current iron prices, which have reached SR2,000 per ton, the paper said. Al-Rashid said his company hiked prices as a result of a rise in prices of raw materials.