In March this year, Turkey's slab imports amounted to 161,136 mt, up 40.82 percent month on month and decreasing by 12.73 percent year on year, according to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The total value of Turkey's slab imports in the given month was $86.93 million, up 46.91 percent month on month and decreasing by 7.86 percent compared to March 2013. According to the data for March this year, the average price for Turkish slab imports in the given month was $539.47/mt, rising $22.36/mt from the average of $517.11/mt recorded in the previous month.
In the first quarter of the current year, Turkey's slab imports decreased by 28.06 percent year on year to 379,236 mt, due to high slab prices. Meanwhile, the value of Turkey's slab imports in this period was $198.41 million, down 24.05 percent year on year.
In the first quarter this year, Turkey imported 223,552 metric tons of slab from the UK, up 21.74 percent year on year. The UK was Turkey's largest slab import source in the period in question, followed by Ukraine, which supplied 79,615 mt, up 430.10 percent, and Sweden with 31,599 mt, down 53.48 percent, both on year-on-year basis. Meanwhile, in the given period, Turkey's slab imports from Russia decreased by 91.73 percent year on year to 21,526 mt, due to Russia preferring to sell its high-priced slab to the US rather than to Turkey.
Turkey's slab import sources in the first quarter this year are as follows:
| Country | Amount (mt) | |||
| Jan-Mar. 2014 | Jan-Mar. 2013 | Mar.14 | Mar.13 | |
| UK | 223,552 | 183,624 | 131,753 | 93,028 |
| Ukraine | 79,615 | 15,019 | 17,81 | - |
| Sweden | 31,599 | 67,922 | - | 15,088 |
| Netherlands | 22,709 | - | - | - |
| Russia | 21,526 | 260,402 | 11,532 | 76,421 |
| Italy | 191 | 113 | 41 | 113 |
| Germany | 22 | 84 | - | - |
| Czech Rep. | 21 | - | - | - |
| Austria | 1 | 1 | - | 1 |
Turkey's sources of imported slab in the first quarter of the current year can be seen in the graph below:
