Namık Kemal Ekinci, chairman of Turkey’s Foreign Steel Trade Association in the previous term, has been re-elected as chairman for the new term at the association’s ordinary general assembly. Mehmet Çakmur, foreign trade general manager of M Steel, has been elected as vice president of the association.
Speaking after his election, Namık Kemal Ekinci stated that the Turkish steel industry is experiencing many difficulties such as the pandemic, increasing safeguard measures, supply chain problems and raw material shortages, and is searching for alternative markets.
Mr. Ekinci stated that the Turkish steel industry showed a record performance in 2021 under these challenging conditions, rising from fourth to third in the sectoral export ranking across the country. Meanwhile, the share of Turkey’s steel exports held by the US and the EU, which are the main export markets for the Turkish steel industry, decreased from 40 percent to 34 percent in 2021 due to safeguard measures.
Stating that Turkey is dependent on imports in terms of raw materials such as scrap, iron ore and coal, especially on the EU, Ekinci said that approximately 70 percent of scrap and almost all coal volumes used in Turkey are imported. The chairman of the association also stated that the war between Russia and Ukraine puts the security of raw material supply in jeopardy, while the increased energy costs due to the war jeopardize the profitability and sustainability of steel production. Turkey’s steel production decreased by 22 percent in July this year and by 21 percent in August.