Hot dip galvanized coil (HDG) exporters from Russia and Turkey are concerned about the possible limitation of their presence in the European market, which has been supporting them greatly since the second half of last year both in terms of sales volumes and price levels.
The European Commission is expected to announce an official antidumping investigation against HDG imports from Turkey and Russia specifically, following a complaint filed by European mills regarding increased incoming volumes.
The European market has been a savior for Turkish re-rollers and for Russia’s flat steel mills, taking into account the net product deficit seen in the past few months and rapidly surging local prices. In the meantime, most market players believe the antidumping probe will be launched and if so, the preliminary decision will be announced within five to six months from its initiation and it might take another five to six months for the definitive measures to be announced. Moreover, some of the sources fear the dumping rates could be quite sizeable. “Prices have been increasing heavily since 2020 and up to the present. So, if they consider shipment time rather than the contractual date for domestic and export orders, the AD margin could even be over 20 percent,” a Turkish source told SteelOrbis. “It is not good news of course. It is a very big market for us. They start to investigate while they need material. It seems to be political,” a re-roller commented.
According to EUROFER data, Turkey exported 916,600 mt of HDG to the EU in 2020, while in the first quarter this year alone Turkish mills sold 315,000 mt to Europe, up 30 and 70 percent year on year, respectively. In 2020, Russia increased its HDG shipments to the EU by almost 20 percent to 311,900 mt, while in the first quarter alone this year the Russia-based mills exported 114,600 mt to Europe, up 41 percent year on year.