In July this year, Turkey’s scrap imports once again increased both month on month and year on year.
The import volume in July came to 2.406 million mt, up approximately 17.96 percent month on month, according to the data provided by the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD). During the January-July period this year, the general mood in the market was quite strong on the back of Turkish mills’ promising finished steel product export sales and also since they were extending the delivery periods for deep sea scrap cargoes.
During the January-July period, Turkey's steel scrap import volume increased by 26.5 percent year on year to 15.274 million metric tons. The value of these imports exceeded $6,512 million, up 97.7 percent year on year. Looking at Turkey’s scrap imports in July in detail, the EU maintained its number one position among suppliers of Turkey’s scrap imports with a 55.4 percent share, followed by the US with 12.8 percent and then the CIS with an 11.1 percent share. Turkey’s scrap imports from the US indicated a 23 percent decrease year on year in the first seven months this year.
The main sources of Turkey’s scrap imports in January-July 2021 can be seen in the table below:
|
Imported tonnage Jan-July 2021 (thousand mt) |
Change year on year (%) |
US |
1,954 |
-23 |
EU |
8,468 |
+36.7 |
CIS |
1,689 |
+27.8 |
UK |
1,600 |
+27.8 |
Others |
1,562 |
+23.9 |
Total |
15,274 |
+26.5 |
The number of bookings for August shipments is expected to be similar to the number of bookings for July 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 13.987 million mt in the January-August period of 2020, while the import volume in August came to around 1.886 million mt.
The comparison of Turkey’s scrap imports for 2021 with those for 2020 can be seen in the graph below:
