Turkey’s scrap imports up 0.9 percent in Jan-Mar 2026 amid support from secondary sources

In March this year, Turkey's scrap import volume increased by 15.6 percent month on month and decreased by 2.4 percent year on year to 1.62 million metric tons, according to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The value of these imports totaled $619.21 million, up 15.8 percent month on month and down 0.4 percent year on year.

In the January-March period, Turkey's scrap imports amounted to 4.73 million mt, up 0.9 percent, while the value of these imports increased by 1.9 percent to $1.79 billion, both year on year.

Turkey’s scrap imports - Last 12 months

In the given period, Turkey imported 981,401 mt of scrap from the US, up 26.4 percent year on year, with the US ranking as Turkey's leading scrap import source, ahead of the Netherlands which supplied 589,860 mt in the given period, down 30.0 percent year on year, and the UK which supplied 483,933 mt of scrap, up 5.8 percent year on year.  While the increases in purchases from Romania, Denmark and Lithuania supported overall imports, the decreases in imports from the Netherlands and Belgium limited the total growth. The overall picture indicates that, rather than a sharp increase in Turkey’s scrap imports in terms of volume, there has been a notable shift in the distribution of supply sources, while the recovery seen in March stands out as a key indicator to watch for the remainder of the year.

Turkey's top 10 scrap import sources in the January-March period are as follows:

Shares in Turkey’s scrap imports - January-March 2026