According to the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association (TCUD), in May this year Turkey's steel imports from China increased by 113 percent to 153,000 metric tons. In the January-May period, Turkey's steel imports from China rose by 203.6 percent to 821,000 metric tons.
The TCUD stated that in May, due to aggressive prices, despite the dramatic increase in volume, the value of these import increased by only two percent to $124 million, while in the January-May period the import value rose by 61.2 percent to $751 million, both on year-on-year basis.
In May, Turkey did not purchase any slab from China, while its import of billets reached 60,000 mt. In the given month, Turkey’s flat steel imports increased by 49.2 percent to 60,000 mt, long steel imports rose by 81.7 percent to 10,000 mt and pipe imports moved up by 56.7 percent to 10,000 mt.
On the other hand, in the first five months of this year, Turkey did not purchase any slab from China and billet imports exceeded 110,000 mt. In the same period, Turkey’s flat steel imports from China increased by 361.8 percent to 470,000 mt, long steel imports increased by 136.9 percent to 95,000 mt and pipe imports rose by 21.6 percent to 89,000 mt.