Weaker end-user consumption and overall challenging business conditions have put pressure on Turkey’s flats imports. In the January-November period last year, the incoming volume decreased by 6.1 percent year on year to 6.695 million mt, as announced by the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD). In November, the import volume totalled 611,000 mt, down almost seven percent compared to October of the same year.
One of the reasons is the general drop in demand for flat steel in Turkey. In the first 11 months, flat steel consumption decreased by 4.5 percent year on year to 13.8 million mt, the TCUD data show. In particular, there has been some significant weakening of automotive and white goods production, which impacted demand for cold rolled and coated coils.
In the HRC segment, a number of factors may have influenced the import situation. In some periods of last year, Turkish mills were more aggressive in the local market, while having trouble selling abroad. In the meantime, there was a certain lack of regular re-rolling grade HRC from suppliers abroad. “First Ilva and Galati were out for a long time and the CIS was not targeting Turkey [in some periods] due to low prices,” a trader told SteelOrbis.