Speaking at the 6th SteelOrbis Turkish Steel Market Conference held in Istanbul on November 18, Turkish Steel Pipe Manufacturers Association's vice chairman Kemal Saraç said that Turkey's total steel pipe output in the first eight months of 2011 amounted to 2.36 million mt, including 2 million mt of longitudinally welded tubes and 360,000 mt of spirally welded tubes. Mr. Saraç noted that Turkey's steel pipe output in 2010 reached 3.39 million mt, including 2,605,000 mt of longitudinally welded tubes and the remaining spiral welded tubes.
Stating that Turkey's steel pipe exports amounted to 1,384,000 mt in the first 10 months of this year and 1,658,000 mt in the whole of 2010, Saraç said that around 80-85 percent of Turkey's steel pipe exports go to continental Europe.
According to Mr.Saraç, investments in steel pipe manufacturing in Turkey are expected to decrease in 2012 on the back of rising interest rates and restricted demand, and competition will likely intensify with new capacities commissioned on the production side. He expressed concern that this situation may negatively affect flat steel prices in Turkey.
Considering Europe's large share in Turkey's steel pipe exports, Saraç said the financial problems in Europe may affect Turkish steel pipe exports in a negative way, causing a significant steel pipe production decrease in 2012.
Finally, Mr. Saraç said that Turkey's steel pipe manufacturing sector consumes 28 percent of the total flat steel output in Turkey and noted that larger growth is expected in the Turkish flat steel sector as compared to Turkish steel pipe manufacture, and this may also constitute a positive development for the domestic steel pipe manufacturing sector.