Turkey’s steel exports to MENA down 20.61 percent in Jan-Aug 2010

Turkey's steel product exports to the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region in the first eight months of 2010 declined by 20.61 percent year on year to 6.91 million metric tons, according to the data provided by the Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (IMMIB). Meanwhile, the region continued to be Turkey's major export market, accounting for 61.44 percent of its total steel product exports. However, in January-April 2009, this figure was recorded at 68.73 percent.
 
In the January-August period of this year, the UAE again ranked first among Turkey's steel product export markets with a steel product export volume amounting to 1,402,476 metric tons, down 9.21 percent year on year, followed by Saudi Arabia, with 1.09 million metric tons, climbing by 80.96 percent.
 
In the given period, Turkey's steel product exports to Egypt, Turkey's largest steel export market in the first eight months of 2009, amounted to 799,950 metric tons, down 69.49 percent, exports to Iraq totaled 733,545 metric tons, down 22.44 percent, and exports to Libya came to 541,074 metric tons, up 6.55 percent, all compared to the corresponding period of 2009.
 
In the January-August period, steel bars, including rebar, constituted Turkey's most exported product to the region, accounting for 43.10 percent of the country's total steel product exports to the region. Steel bar exports to the MENA region totaled 2.98 million metric tons in the first eight months of 2010, regressing by 47.42 percent year on year. Meanwhile, steel billet exports to the region amounted to 1.91 million metric tons, climbing by 2.19 times compared to the year-ago period, and accounting for 27.57 percent of Turkey's total steel exports to the MENA region.