According to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in March this year Turkey's seamless pipe imports rose by 26.4 percent compared to the previous month and were down 14.9 percent compared to March 2011, amounting to 20,107 metric tons. The value of these imports amounted to $31.6 million, increasing by 33.3 percent as compared to February and down 24.9 percent year on year.
In March, Turkey's seamless pipe imports from China amounted to 6,937 metric tons, increasing by 63.2 percent month on month and accounting for approximately 34.5 percent of Turkey's total seamless pipe imports. Turkey's second biggest source of seamless pipe imports in March was Russia with 4,227 metric tons, increasing by 21.3 percent compared to February.
In the first quarter of the year, Turkey's seamless pipe imports amounted to 48,273 metric tons, decreasing 27.9 percent compared to the same period of 2011. In the given period, seamless pipe imports from China came to 15,343 metric tons, down 11.8 percent year on year, while the import volume from Russia totaled 8,921 mt, falling 52.2 percent compared to the first quarter of the previous year.