Crude steel production in Turkey increased by 9.2 percent year on year in March this year to 3.4 million mt, according to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD). In the January-March period this year, Turkey produced 9.8 million mt of crude steel, up by 8.8 percent year on year.
In March, Turkey’s steel imports increased by 53.9 percent to 1.5 million mt, while the value of these imports moved up by 81.6 percent to $1.2 billion, both year on year. In the first three months this year, the country’s steel imports increased by 15.7 percent to 3.9 million mt, while the value of these imports rose by 42.5 percent to $2.9 billion, both year on year. In the January-March period of the year, Turkey’s steel export to import ratio declined to 92.2 percent, from 102 percent recorded in the same period last year.
Stating that the supply shortage in international markets has been continuing as well as the increases in steel production and consumption, Veysel Yayan, secretary general of the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD), said “Despite the increase in steel production by Turkey in the first quarter of the year, the 37.9 percent decrease in HRC exports reveals that Turkish producers are focusing on the local market. Due to the uncertainty in the international markets, consumers’ restocking caused demand to increase even more. For this reason, it is considered that the problems in delivery are mainly due to last-minute demand, and the evaluations regarding prices are due to the fact that the developments in the global steel industry are not taken into account and that comparison is made on the basis of local price movements.”
In April this year, the European Commission announced definitive antidumping duty rates ranging at 4.7-7.3 percent on imports of HRC from Turkey, as SteelOrbis previously reported. Mr. Yayan said that, even if it is decided not to extend the current EU safeguard measures which will expire at the end of June this year, it is important to conclude the ongoing antidumping investigation against HRC imported from the EU as soon as possible in order to maintain the competitiveness of the Turkish steel industry.