Speaking at the 8th SteelOrbis Turkish Steel Market Conference held in Istanbul on November 29, Dr. Veysel Yayan, general secretary of the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), said that Turkey's crude steel production for the current year is expected to reach 35.2 million metric tons, with a year-on-year drop of 1.9 percent due to the strike at Isdemir in late July, which caused a drop of 700,000 metric tons in crude steel output. Dr. Yayan told attendees that in 2014 Turkish crude steel production is foreseen to exceed 36 million metric tons.
Long products are expected to account for 72.9 percent of the total Turkish finished steel production in 2013, while the share of flat products is expected to be 27.1 percent, said Dr. Yayan, while he added that Turkey's finished steel production is expected keep growing with the support of increasing semi-finished steel imports. Apparent steel use in Turkey is predicted to rise by eight percent in 2013 compared to 2012, and to reach 30.7 million metric tons (430 kg per capita), he said. However, according to the TCUD general secretary, the increase in consumption has been met by higher imports, as Turkey's steel imports in the whole of the current year are expected to rise by 28.4 percent to 11.1 million mt, against an anticipated drop of 5.2 percent in its steel exports in the full year to 14.4 million mt.
Regarding Turkey's external steel trade, Dr. Yayan stated that Turkey's steel trade with the EU this year resulted in a deficit of $2.4 billion, similar to 2012, mostly due to free trade agreements between the EU and Turkey working against Turkey's interests. Increasing protectionism in the export markets, particularly in the US, is also negatively effecting the growth of the Turkish steel industry, he concluded.