In December last year, Turkey's billet and bloom import volume increased by 60.18 percent year on year to 389,137 metric tons, up 27.28 percent compared to the previous month, according to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The value of these imports totaled $209.50 million, up 54.51 percent year on year and increasing by 28.12 percent compared to the previous month.
Meanwhile, in the whole of last year, Turkey imported 3.11 million mt of billet and bloom, up 30.91 percent, with a value of $1.72 billion, increasing by 18.20 percent, both year on year.
Last year, Turkey imported 1.59 million mt of billet and bloom from Ukraine, 26.66 percent higher than in 2012, occupying first place among Turkey's major billet and bloom import sources, ahead of Russia. In the given year, Turkey imported 1.01 million mt of billet and bloom from Russia, up 56.11 percent, while Belarus' billet and bloom exports to Turkey increased by 14.95 percent to 133,293 mt, both compared to 2012.
Turkey's top 10 billet and bloom import sources in 2013 are as follows:
| Country | Amount (mt) | |||
| 2013 | 2012 | Dec. 2013 | Dec. 2012 | |
| Ukraine | 1,591,345 | 1,256,366 | 194,015 | 165,253 |
| Russia | 1,012,203 | 648,378 | 134,972 | 37,224 |
| Belarus | 133,293 | 115,96 | 6,608 | 21,798 |
| Georgia | 63,716 | - | 12,106 | 15,201 |
| Albania | 46,286 | 123,787 | 5,911 | 14,403 |
| Serbia | 42,644 | 23,611 | 4,996 | - |
| Germany | 40,436 | 25,549 | 11,948 | 591 |
| Croatia | 35,232 | - | 12,892 | - |
| Lithuania | 30,902 | - | - | - |
| Lebanon | 20,194 | - | - | - |
Turkey's main billet and bloom sources on country basis in the whole of last year are presented below:
