Exports continue to provide the key support to Turkey’s flat steel producers amid the slowing down of domestic consumption.
Turkey exported 3.1 million mt of flat steel in the first half this year, up 17.7 percent year on year, according to Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD) data. The EU remains the key trade partner for the Turkish mills, although in recent months the weakening of local European markets has posed challenges. In addition, in the first half Turkey managed to strengthen its positions in Pakistan and some North African markets. Some sizeable CRC lots were also shipped from Turkey to the US in the second quarter, SteelOrbis has learned.
While flats exports remained active despite challenges, Turkey’s domestic demand continued to shrink in the first half of the year amid the worsening performance of local consuming industries. Domestic demand for the period declined by 21 percent to 6.975 million mt, the TCUD reports. Despite Turkish flat steel producers managing to push back imports by 18 percent year on year to 3.55 million mt in the given period, they still did not avoid cuts in their own production, which was down 8.3 year on year in the first half to 6.5 million mt.
Imports remain a concern for Turkish HRC mills, as this year the EU suppliers have become aggressive, while in addition suppliers from Asia (India, South Korea and Japan) have recently become regular players in the Turkish market. “Locals need to fight both through pricing policies, but on the import side the EU has an advantage of zero duty, unlike India for example,” a source explained.