Turkey’s steel exports are expected to total 16.4 million mt in 2016, while steel exports are expected to increase by three percent in 2017, according to a report by Anadolu Agency.
Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) chairman Namık Ekinci stated that due to the announcement of the increase in public investments in Turkey in the coming period, the commissioning of some important projects, urban transformation gathering speed, recovery seen in sales of upstream industries such as housing, automotive and white goods which use steel products as inputs, CIB expects 2017 to be a better year for the Turkish steel industry.
In addition, according to Mr. Ekinci, scrap prices have remained relatively cheap compared to iron ore prices in recent months and this has increased competitiveness of the Turkish steel industry since 70 percent of its production comes from electric arc furnaces which use scrap as raw material. Meanwhile, Mr. Ekinci also stated that the recovery in the domestic markets of the US, Europe and some Far Eastern countries including Japan and China will also positively affect Turkish steel exports in 2017, especially flat steel exports.