In December last year, Turkey's slab imports amounted to 279,355 mt, up 1.71 percent month on month and increasing by 36.37 percent year on year, according to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The total value of Turkey's slab imports in the given month was $141.69 million, down 1.48 percent month on month and increasing by 40.12 percent compared to December 2012. According to the data for December last year, the average price for Turkish slab imports was $507.20/mt, rising $13.58/mt from the average of $493.62 /mt recorded in the same month of 2012.
In the whole of last year, Turkey's slab imports totaled 2.29 million mt, surging strongly by 141.35 percent, with a value of $1.16 billion, up 128.43 percent, both year on year.
Meanwhile, last year Turkey imported 805,113 metric tons of slab from Russia, increasing by more than four times, it imported 797,739 metric tons of slab from the UK, increasing almost threefold, as well as 342,023 metric tons of slab from Ukraine, up 78.73 percent, all year on year.
Turkey's top 10 slab import sources in 2013 are as follows:
| Country | Amount (mt) | |||
| 2013 | 2012 | Dec. 13 | Dec. 12 | |
| Russia | 805,113 | 183,508 | 41,821 | 54,188 |
| UK | 797,736 | 266,910 | 143,698 | 45,903 |
| Ukraine | 342,023 | 191,366 | 35,597 | 12,128 |
| Sweden | 164,113 | 144,057 | 20,024 | 53,179 |
| Brazil | 79,866 | 120,288 | - | 39,446 |
| Iran | 57,217 | - | - | - |
| Netherlands | 38,201 | 40,807 | 38,201 | - |
| USA | 5,989 | - | - | - |
| Japan | 2,853 | - | - | - |
| Italy | 672 | 1,445 | - | - |
Turkey's main sources of imported slab in 2013 can be seen in the graph below:
