In August this year, Turkey’s scrap imports decreased compared to July, though they still indicated an increase year on year.
The import volume in August alone came to 2,008 million mt, down approximately 16.53 percent month on month, according to the data provided by the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD). During the January-August period of the current year, the general mood in the market deteriorated as Turkish mills’ exports slowed down, negatively influencing their import scrap purchases.
During the January-August period, Turkey's steel scrap import volume increased by 23.6 percent on year on year to 17,282 million metric tons. The value of these imports exceeded $7,498 million, up 97.3 percent year on year. Looking at Turkey’s scrap imports in August in detail, the EU maintained its number one position among suppliers of Turkey’s scrap imports with a 53.8 percent share, followed by the US with 12.9 percent and the CIS with an 11.7 percent share.
The main sources of Turkey’s scrap imports in January-August 2021 can be seen in the table below:
|
|
Imported tonnage Jan-August 2021 (thousand mt) |
Change year on year (%) |
|
US |
2,229 |
-23.4 |
|
EU |
9,298 |
+28.9 |
|
CIS |
2,018 |
+231.8 |
|
UK |
1,788 |
+28.5 |
|
Others |
1,949 |
+24.7 |
|
Total |
17,282 |
+23.6 |
The number of bookings for September shipments is expected to be lower than for August shipments and to indicate a rise year on year since the cumulative tonnages are already higher than in previous years. Turkey’s scrap imports had totaled 16.168 million mt in the January-September 2020 period, while the import volume in September 2020 alone came to around 2,181 million mt.
The comparison of Turkey’s scrap imports in 2020 and 2021 can be seen in the graph below:
