The Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) has stated that in the first half of the current year Turkey’s overall steel exports continued to increase. In the given period, Turkey's steel exports increased by 16 percent year on year to 9.7 million mt, while the value of these exports totaled $5.8 billion, up 31 percent on year-on-year basis, according to the data released by the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB).
In the January-June period this year, Turkey's main steel export destination was the EU, which received three million mt of steel products from Turkey, increasing by 85 percent year on year. The EU was followed by the Middle East, North America and the Far East, which imported 2.2 million mt, 1.4 million mt and 770,000 mt of Turkish steel products respectively. In the given period, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong and the UK recorded the highest year-on-year increases in steel product imports from Turkey.
Meanwhile, in the given period, Turkey's main exported steel product was rebar with total exports amounting to 3.2 million mt, down 15 percent from the same period of the previous year. Rebar was followed by hot rolled flat steel exports totaling 1.4 million mt, welded pipe exports amounting to 951,000 mt, wire rod exports reaching 780,000 mt and steel sections totaling 737,000 mt.
In June alone, Turkey's steel exports fell by 7.8 percent year on year to 1.4 million mt, while the value of these exports totaled $904 million, remaining stable compared to the same period of 2016.
“We are pleased with the 16 percent increase in steel export volume and the 31 percent increase in value recorded in the first six months. In the period in question, we focused on new markets due to problems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which are especially important export markets for us. As a result, we have seen a significant increase in our steel exports to Far Eastern countries, especially to Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. Steel exports to this region reached 770,000 mt with a year-on-year increase of 612 percent, surpassing the North African countries,” commented CIB chairman Namık Ekinci.