Turkey's PPGI imports up 82 percent in 2013

According to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), last year Turkey's pre-painted galvanized iron (PPGI) imports amounted to 79,312 mt, increasing by 82 percent from 43,613 mt in 2012, while the revenue from these imports rose to $89.26 million, up 41.78 percent compared to 2012.

Meanwhile, in December last year, Turkey's PPGI imports increased by 49.15 percent year on year to 5,153 metric tons and were down 39.28 percent month on month. The value of these imports amounted to $5.34 million, up 37.85 percent year on year and down 40 percent month on month.

In 2013, Turkey's main PPGI import sources were China and Italy, with PPGI imports from China up 104.46 percent to 47,861 mt and imports from Italy increasing by 36.37 percent to 12,654 mt, both compared to 2012.

The main reason for the strong increase in Turkey's PPGI imports last year was the more competitive pricing of exporter countries due to weak PPGI demand in their domestic markets. On the other hand, Turkey's PPGI output capacity has increased by 270,000 mt since the last quarter of 2013, reaching 820,000 mt in the current month of February. Accordingly, more competitive pricing is seen in the Turkish market, leading markets players to expect that PPGI imports will decrease in the coming years.

Turkey's top 10 PPGI import sources in 2013: