The Turkish Steel Pipe Manufacturers Association (CEBID) has announced its expectations for the Turkish steel pipe industry in 2023. In 2022, the Turkish steel pipe industry increased its exports by 10.7 percent and contributed $2.3 billion to the domestic economy.
Stating that domestic production of the hot flat steel products which are used by the steel pipe industry as raw material is 10.5 million mt, and its exports total two million mt, Mehmet Zeren, general secretary of CEBID, noted that the country imports approximately 4.5 million mt of hot flat steel products as local consumption amounts to 13 million mt.
Pointing out that the import duty on hot flat steel products rose to 15 percent in January, Mr. Zeren stated that the earthquake in February caused a significant decrease in production in the country’s southeast region, and, therefore, the problems regarding accessing raw materials increased.
Saying that flat steel prices have increased by $100/mt since the duties were raised, Zeren stated that the order deadlines have also increased to five months.
Stating that, within the scope of the new decision of Turkey’s central bank, loans from banks are not allowed if the raw material purchases are based on dollars, the general secretary of CEBID said that the dollar-based raw material sales of local producers and thus the increasing difficulty in accessing raw material negatively affect the sustainable growth of the Turkish steel pipe industry.