According to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD), in October this year crude steel production in Turkey decreased by 17.8 percent year on year to 2.9 million mt, while in the January-October period the country’s crude steel production totaled 30.2 million mt, falling by 10.1 percent year on year.
In the January-October period, Turkey’s finished steel consumption fell by 2.5 percent to 27.1 million mt, while in October alone finished steel consumption in Turkey increased by 11.5 percent to 2.8 million mt, both year on year.
In October, Turkey’s steel exports decreased by 42.3 percent to 1.1 million mt, while the value of these exports fell by 51.3 percent to $853.5 million, year on year. Turkey’s steel exports in the January-October period stood at 13.6 million mt, down by 18.0 percent year on year, while the value of these exports came to $12.6 billion, down by 6.5 percent year on year.
In October, Turkey’s steel imports increased by 11.6 percent to 1.2 million mt, while the value of these imports moved down by 9.9 percent to $1.1 billion, both year on year. In the first 10 months this year, steel imports decreased by 3.6 percent to 12.5 million mt, while the value of these imports increased by 14.8 percent to $13.5 billion, both year on year.
In the first 10 months of the year, Turkey’s steel export to import ratio decreased to 93.3 percent, from 114.5 percent recorded in the same period of the previous year.
According to the TCUD, after the share of energy in the total costs of the Turkish steel industry increased to 28 percent, the contraction of production continued in October also. Due to the decline in steel consumption in the EU market, Turkey’s steel exports to the EU decreased by 25 percent. In addition, as the Gulf countries, which are more advantageous compared to Turkey in terms of energy costs, focused on the Southeast Asian market, this caused Turkey’s steel exports to Southeast Asia to decrease by 78 percent. Turkey’s steel production and exports decreased, while imports from Russia, India and China continued to rise. Billet imports increased by 148 percent in October as Russia sold billet to Turkey at low prices. In the first 10 months of the year, HRC imports from China increased from 161,000 mt to 669,000 mt. Meanwhile, the TCUD stated that, after India’s abolition of export duties, there will be a significant increase in Indian origin products exported to the Turkish market at cheap prices, and that India, one of Turkey’s biggest competitors in the HRC market, may take advantage of the weakening competitiveness of the Turkish steel industry. In this context, it has been reported that the Turkish steel industry may enter a recovery period as of the first quarter of 2023, depending on the measures taken to increase steel consumption in the manufacturing industry, especially projects related to the housing sector, to reduce energy prices to reasonable levels, and to prevent imports of poor quality and dumped products.