Speaking at the SteelOrbis 2019 Spring Conference & 80th IREPAS Meeting held in Barcelona on April 7-9, Murat Cebecioglu from Turkish steel producer ICDAS, chairman of IREPAS and also of the producers committee, said that GDP is growing in most countries worldwide although growth is slower than expected in some markets. Nevertheless, he added that things are getting better, which signals good demand. The IREPAS chairman said that protectionist measures are spreading like a virus throughout the world, changing trade flows. He pointed out that importers have become exporters and vice versa, indicating that the main export markets for Turkey have become Yemen and Israel, with the US and Canada being out of reach. However, the committee chairman reiterated that the Turkish steel industry has gone through difficult times before and will get through this one as well.
Mr. Cebecioglu stated that US President Trump totally destroyed the markets with tariffs and that others are following suit, starting a chain effect, increasing customers’ costs and ultimately causing economies to slow down. He went on to say that what is left to the Turkish export trade is only South America, Africa and the MENA region, stressing that competition is getting tougher.
Answering a question about possible destinations for Turkish billet exports, Mr. Cebecioglu said that GCC countries, North Africa and the Middle East stand out as target markets.