Murat Cebecioğlu, chairman of IREPAS, the global association for longs exporters and producers, has given the welcome speech at the SteelOrbis Spring 2024 Conference & 90th IREPAS Meeting taking place in Berlin on April 28-30. The conference has attracted approximately 450 participants, including 105 representatives from 41 steel producers and 95 delegates from 52 raw material suppliers. In his speech, the IREPAS chairman stated that the global long steel market is still facing unfair trade conditions, with aggressive exports coming from China. Apart from the unfair trade conditions, he said that the market is deteriorating due to ongoing geopolitical issues, huge uncertainties, and economic problems.
Regarding China’s exports, he stated that China’s aggressive exports have driven other Asian exporters such as Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea to adapt a similar stance on prices this year in order to remain competitive, resulting in a further worsening of global steel market conditions. Mr. Cebecioğlu also noted that the positive expectations for the period after the Chinese New Year holiday did not materialize, disappointing market participants. Meanwhile, he noted that demand in the global long steel market continues to lag behind supply. Stating that steel demand in the EU will not recover before the second half of 2024, the IREPAS chairman noted that prices in the US market are fluctuating with some product prices up and some down, while the market players in the US, the EU and Canada are waiting for interest rates to ease.