In the January-September period of this year, Turkey's steel product exports to the United Arab Emirates, its largest steel export market, fell by 17.93 percent year on year, dropping to 1.3 million metric tons, according to the data provided by the Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (IMMIB). The revenue generated by these exports came to $862.91 million, decreasing by only 0.2 percent as compared to the corresponding period of 2010, due to support from increased steel prices.
Meanwhile, as compared to the first nine months of 2008, Turkey's steel product exports to the UAE in January-September of the current year regressed by 75.9 percent in volume and 83.2 percent in revenue.
Steel product exports to the UAE accounted for a 9.5 percent share of Turkey's total steel product exports in the January-September period this year, down from a 12.4 percent share recorded in the first nine months of 2010, and significantly down from the 33.5 percent share in the corresponding period of 2008.
In the first nine months of this year, Turkey's leading exported steel product to the UAE was steel bars, including rebars, with a volume of 1.1 million metric tons, up 14.48 percent year on year, followed by steel billet with an export volume reaching 141,096 metric tons, 70.92 percent lower as compared to the year-ago period.
In the period in question, steel bar exports accounted for 82.53 percent of Turkey's total steel product exports to the UAE, while steel billet constituted 10.9 percent of the total exports.