In July this year, Turkey's steel exports decreased by 4.1 percent year on year to 1.3 million mt, while the value of these exports totaled $805 million, down 22.8 percent on year-on-year basis, according to the data released by the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB).
In the first seven months of this year, Turkey's steel exports declined by 10.3 percent to 9.5 million mt, while the value of these exports totaled $6.1 billion, down 23.6 percent, both on year-on-year basis. In the given period, Turkey's main steel export destination was the Middle East, which received 3.6 million mt. The Middle East was followed by the EU and North Africa, imported 1.6 million mt and 1.1 million mt of Turkish steel products respectively. In the same period, the highest increase was observed in Syria which received 139,000 mt, up 173 percent, and Oman which imported 121,000 mt, increasing by 147 percent, both on year-on-year basis.
“The events occurring in the Middle East, one of our key markets, and the losses in North Africa, which have not yet been compensated for, negatively affect Turkey’s steel exports. The 11 percent increase we achieved in the last two months is not enough to reach the target we set for 2015. Because of the uncertainties in the Turkish and global steel sector, we have revised our export target for 2015 to 16.5 million mt,” commented CIB chairman Namık Ekinci.