In May this year, Turkey's total steel product exports amounted to 1.69 million metric tons, rising three percent compared to the previous month, with a total revenue of $1.35 billion, up 1.5 percent over April, according to the Turkey's Steel Exporters' Association (CIB).
The Middle East was Turkey's largest destination for steel exports, receiving 754,000 metric tons in May this year, while it was followed by the EU with 204,000 mt and North Africa with 203,000 mt. The most exported steel product in terms of volume was rebar amounting to 774,000 mt, followed by 239,000 mt of steel billet, 155,000 mt of section steel, 126,000 mt of steel pipe and 97,000 mt of wire rod in the month in question.
Meanwhile, in the first five months of the current year Turkey's total steel product exports amounted to 8.2 million metric tons, up 5.9 percent compared to the same period last year. The revenue generated by these exports in January-May this year totaled $6.6 billion, increasing by 3.4 percent year on year.
In the first five months of the current year, the Middle East was Turkey's largest destination for steel exports, receiving 3.3 million metric tons. In the given period, Turkey's steel product exports to the EU amounted to 970,000 mt, while North Africa imported 889,000 mt of steel products from Turkey.
Compared to the same period last year, the largest steel export increases were recorded in exports to non-EU countries, West Africa and North America. In the first five months, exports of rebar, which ranks first among the country's exported steel products in terms of volume, amounted to 3.85 million mt, while Turkey exported 999,000 mt of steel billet, 740,000 mt of steel section, 734,000 mt of steel pipe and 503,000 mt of wire rod in the period in question.