Speaking at the SteelOrbis Market Talks Meeting held in Istanbul on Wednesday, May 22, Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) chairman Namik Ekinci shared with participants the output tonnages and export figures of the Turkish steel industry for the first four months of the current year. While crude steel production in
Turkey had increased by 5.4 percent year on year to 36 million metric tons in 2012, a sharp decrease has been seen in January this year in crude steel production, with a softer decline observed in February. Mr. Ekinci said
Turkey's crude steel output declined in the first four months of the year, causing
Turkey to drop from eighth to ninth position among the world's largest steel producing countries.
Ekinci said that a decline in long steel product exports led to a contraction in the country's overall steel exports right at the beginning of the year, though export levels showed an improvement in each subsequent month, and total steel exports ended by increasing approximately by five percent year on year in the first four months of 2013. Looking at products,
Turkey's rebar exports saw the largest fall in the first four months, while flat product exports rose almost 70 percent year on year, contrary to the situation observed last year. According to Ekinci, the reason for this increase in flat rolled exports was the growth in demand from EU countries, particularly from Italy.
The CIB chairman said that, looking at the figures, the outlook is not bad for the Turkish steel sector, noting that
Turkey's steel imports increased by 27.5 percent year on year in the first four months. However, he added, if the entry of dumped goods into the country is excluded, the reasons for the increase in imports may be found in the weakness of the domestic industry, for example, in the lack of production of high-quality goods at reasonable prices.