The Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD) has shared its evaluations regarding the country’s export and import data for the January-July period this year.
The association stated that there was a decrease in Turkey’s steel imports in the first seven months of the year due to the decline in local consumption and the base effect from the high rate of imports recorded in 2023. Meanwhile, looking at the countries individually, Turkey’s steel imports from Egypt and Indonesia excessively increased. Stating that steel imports from China continue to increase exponentially, the TCUD noted that, while many countries are protecting their domestic markets against China, Turkey should implement restrictive measures against Chinese imports as soon as possible to avoid becoming an open market.
On the export side, the TCUD stated that Turkey’s steel exports to the US and the EU increased in the first seven months this year, due to the base effect from the declines recorded in recent years. In addition, as tensions in the Red Sea prevented Far Eastern producers from reaching the European market, the demand in the region also contributed to the increase in Turkey’s exports to the EU. Although Turkey’s steel exports to the Far East market increased to 98,500 mt, the level continues to remain well behind the 1.2 million mt recorded in 2021. The lower exports to the Far East market were a result of gradually rising Chinese exports, which totaled 61 million mt globally in the January-July period, up by 21.8 percent year on year.
In the January-July period, the country’s steel exports increased by 45.3 percent to 7.73 million mt, while the value of these exports rose by 25.1 percent to $5.69 billion, both year on year, as SteelOrbis previously reported. In the given period, the country’s steel imports decreased by 14.8 percent to 9.4 million mt, while the value of these imports fell by 21.0 percent to $7.5 billion, both year on year.