According to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in the first quarter of the current year Turkey's seamless pipe imports amounted to 48,109 mt, increasing 11.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2012, but down 9.1 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. In each of the last three quarters of 2012, Turkey's seamless pipe import volume exceeded 50,000 mt. Meanwhile, Turkey's seamless pipe imports increased in March this year, following the low volumes recorded in the previous three months. In March this year, Turkey's seamless pipe imports rose 33.45 percent compared to February and were up 12.2 percent compared to March 2012, amounting to 19,028 metric tons.
In the first quarter of this year, Turkey's seamless pipe imports from the CIS amounted to 6,517 mt, maintaining the downtrend observed since the third quarter last year and constituting the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, while the EU exported of 12,805 mt of seamless pipes to Turkey in the first quarter this year, decreasing by 20 percent on quarter-on-quarter basis and down 8.7 percent from the same period of 2012.
Turkey's seamless pipe imports in the first quarter from China, its largest seamless pipe source since 2009, amounted to 24,609 metric tons, down 12.6 percent compared to the previous quarter and almost double year on year. The share of China in Turkey's seamless pipe imports has been increasing gradually, standing at 32.8 percent in 2011 and at 47.7 percent in 2012.
Turkey's seamless pipe import distribution with respect to source countries in the first quarter of 2013 is as follows:
