In this week's merchant bar analysis, we will compare Turkish merchant bar producers' export figures in the time periods of January-April 2008 and January-April 2009 according to the data from the Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (IMMIB).
While the Turkish producers' overall merchant bar exports in January-April 2008 came to approximately 595,000 mt, the figure amounted to around 470,000 mt for the first four months of this year. The main export markets in January-April last year were Romania (86,000 mt), the UAE and UK (63,000 mt each), Greece (32,000 mt), Morocco (26,000 mt) and Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Spain (20,000 mt for each). All figures are approximate.
Meanwhile, looking at the first four months of the current year, Turkish producers exported merchant bars to Iraq (76,000 mt), Syria (37,000 mt), Saudi Arabia (33,000 mt), Algeria (32,000 mt) and Morocco (28,000 mt). All figures are approximate. Merchant bar exports to Romania, which ranked first in the same period last year, this year totaled only 19,000 mt. In addition, only 14,000 mt and 7,000 mt of merchant bars were respectively exported to the UAE and the UK in the corresponding period this year.
The change in the export markets of the Turkish producers is the most significant point of interest raised by the figures. While exports to Europe have decreased greatly due to the downturn of demand triggered by the global economic crisis, merchant bar exports to Iraq and North Africa have registered significant increases on the back of rising demand.
No change in this new picture is expected to be seen in the upcoming months. While demand from North Africa and Iraq is expected to maintain its strength, it should be noted that in addition to demand the US dollar/euro exchange rate also has an influential role to play.