According to the customs statistics provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in the second quarter of the current year Turkey's iron ore imports amounted to 2.7 million mt, indicating a strong rise of 86.2 percent over the previous quarter and up by 65.8 percent compared to the same period of 2012. In the first half of 2013, Turkey imported 4.2 million mt of iron ore, increasing 20.2 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2012. The value of iron ore imports totaled $597 million in the first half, rising 9.5 percent year on year.
In the January-June period this year, Turkey's iron ore imports from Brazil decreased by 25.8 percent on year-on-year basis, amounting to 1.6 million mt, while Ukraine increased its iron ore exports to Turkey in the first half of the year to 1 million mt, almost quadruple compared to the first six months of 2012.
Turkey's iron ore import distribution with respect to source countries in the first half of this year is as follows:
Meanwhile, in June this year Turkey's iron ore imports decreased as compared to May, following two consecutive months of increase on month-on-month basis. The country's iron ore imports amounted to 833,987 mt in June, down 17.8 percent compared to May and almost double compared to the same month of 2012. In June, the average price of Turkey's iron ore imports stood at $145/mt, falling compared to the average of $156/mt recorded in the same month of 2012.