Turkey imported 2.1 million mt of semi-finished steel in the January-August period this year, down 41.6 percent compared to the same period of last year, according to the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD). The higher efficiency of domestic steelmaking versus buying in imports remains the key reason for the downtrend. However, the situation in the billet segment is more negative compared to slabs, taking into account that both steel mills and re-rollers have cut their overseas purchases quite significantly.
In the January-August period this year, billet imports to Turkey decreased by over 1 million mt or almost 50 percent year on year to 1.13 million mt, the TCUD data show. Domestic production of billet dropped by 17.5 percent year on year in the first eight months to 13.8 million mt, reflecting the negative situation in the long steel segment, where domestic production fell by 23.8 percent year on year to 13.23 million mt.
Slabs imports declined by 30 percent or 419,000 mt year on year during the period under review to 977,565 mt. Domestic slab production inched up by 3.5 percent year on year to 8.7 million mt amid the healthier situation in the flat steel market compared to the rebar market. “In flats, export is at least not as challenging for the mills, while domestic demand continues to shrink,” a trader told SteelOrbis.