SteelOrbis talked to Adnan Aslan, Chairman of Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association about 2025 review and 2026 expectations.
Looking at the global steel sector in 2025, we see a picture dominated by slowing demand and, consequently, limited growth. At the same time, it is possible to assess 2025 as a year in which the weakening of fair and free trade principles was clearly felt.
In this context, we see that the slowdown in the European market, particularly in the construction and automotive sectors, is putting significant pressure on steel demand. In contrast, ongoing infrastructure investments in the Asian and Middle Eastern markets are playing a balancing role in terms of global steel demand. On the other hand, we can say that low-priced and dumped products originating from the Far East, particularly China, are among the key factors exerting downward pressure on steel prices.
While these developments are taking place on a global scale, looking at 2025 from the perspective of the Turkish steel sector, we can note that high financing costs, fluctuations in raw material prices, and the contraction in our main export markets stood out. However, it should also be emphasized that our sector has maintained its determination to find solutions to these challenges by focusing on market diversification in exports, thanks to its flexible production structure, fast delivery capability and wide product range.
In line with this approach, we can say that the Steel Exporters' Association resolutely continued its efforts towards market diversification throughout 2025. With exports increasingly shifting towards regional markets, we focused on countries in the nearby geography throughout the year. In this context, we organized visits to Egypt, Kosovo, Morocco, Greece, Tanzania, Germany, Romania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. We would also like to mention that we successfully carried out the sectoral trade delegation visit to Tanzania aiming at Africa as a target market.
We can speak of cautious optimism for the steel sector in 2026. The passing of an important phase in the fight against inflation in the global economy and the gradual introduction of interest rate cuts may support the revival of demand in steel-consuming sectors, particularly the construction industry.
In the last quarter of 2025, the European Union announced details of the new trade restrictions it will implement in 2026 to replace its steel safeguard measure, which it is obliged to terminate. This latest model of trade restrictions by the EU and the restrictive measures of our other international partners will weaken fair competition in global markets in 2026.
However, accelerating green transformation investments in the European Union and the increase in defense, energy and infrastructure projects, along with ongoing large-scale construction and energy investments in the Middle East and Africa, are positive signs for global steel demand. Nevertheless, we anticipate that the supply surplus originating from China and aggressive price competition will remain key factors to be closely monitored by the sector in 2026.
For the Turkish steel sector, 2026 will be a year where growth focused on efficiency, added value and sustainability comes to the fore. We expect relatively relaxed financing conditions and a recovery in export markets to support the sector's competitiveness.
However, green steel investments, renewable energy use and projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint will remain among the main items on the sector’s agenda in 2026.