During the "New Horizons in Global Steel Markets" 13th Annual Conference organized by SteelOrbis in Istanbul on November 8, Mehmet Zeren, general secretary of the Turkish Steel Pipe Manufacturers Association (CEBID), Gökhan Demiruz, chairman of Turkey's Association of Flat Steel Importers and Manufacturers (YISAD), and Muammer Bilgiç, managing director of Bilecik Demir Çelik, shared production, consumption and import- export data from the Turkish steel industry with conference participants.
Mehmet Zeren, general secretary of CEBID, stated that Turkey’s steel pipe production exceeded five million mt in 2017, while in the first six months of the current year the production volume declined due to the contraction of the domestic market beginning from April this year. According to Mr. Zeren, Turkish steel pipe production is expected to decrease by 10-15 percent in 2018 as compared to the previous year. He also stated that no challenges have been experienced in terms of exports so far, informing participants that pipe exports during the January-October period last year amounted to 1.57 million mt, while the figure increased to 1.76 million mt in the corresponding period this year, reflecting a decline in domestic steel pipe consumption. Meanwhile, Turkey’s steel pipe imports in the January-October period this year decreased by 5.45 percent year on year, he indicated.
Commenting on the flat steel industry, Gökhan Demiruz said that Turkey’s flat steel production totaled 12.96 million mt in 2017, while it reached 11.5 million mt in the first nine months of the current year, with a year-end expectation of 2 million mt growth compared to the previous year. In 2017, Turkish flat steel consumption amounted to 17.7 million mt, while Mr. Demiruz pointed out that by the end of 2018 Turkey’s flat steel consumption is not expected to see a significant decline, while by 2030 Turkey’s flat steel consumption is expected to reach 30 million mt. The YISAD official said that for 2018 he expects a 1 million mt increase in Turkey’s flat steel exports and a 1 million mt decrease in its flat steel imports. He added that 38 percent of Turkey’s total flat steel imports fell within the scope of the country’s inward processing regime.
Informing conference participants about the latest figures in the domestic long steel industry, Muammer Bilgiç said that in September this year Turkey posted a record long steel export volume, whereas domestic long steel production declined to a 91-month low, while long steel consumption in Turkey in September was at a 79-month low.