In December Turkey's wire rod exports dropped in volume and in revenue on a month-on-month basis for the third month in a row, while in 2009 the country's wire rod exports rose 17.2 percent in volume compared to 2008.
According to the statistics released by the Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (IMMIB), in December Turkey's total wire rod exports amounted to 79,703 metric tons, decreasing by 23.85 percent year on year and down 30.78 percent over November. Meanwhile, the revenue generated by these exports totaled $38.79 million, falling by 26.72 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and down 32.87 percent month on month.
In December, the average export price of Turkish wire rod amounted to $487/mt, down $32/mt or 6.06 percent from November levels and indicating a decrease of $20/mt or 3.77 percent compared to December 2008.
On the other hand, in 2009 Turkey's wire rod exports surged 17.2 percent year on year to 1.15 million metric tons, totaling a value of $543.36 million, down 31.69 percent compared to the previous year. In the year in question, Turkey explored a new market in Egypt, where steel demand surged significantly in 2009 due to high infrastructure spending. Consequently, Turkey's wire rod exports to this country rocketed in 2009 to 179,000 metric tons, with Egypt becoming Turkey's number one wire rod export destination. Turkish wire rod exports to Libya and Singapore also witnessed high year-on-year change rates.
Turkey's top ten wire rod export destinations in 2009:
Country | Quantity (mt) |
Egypt | 179,066 |
Italy | 111,672 |
Singapore | 98,958 |
Saudi Arabia | 72,191 |
Libya | 70,599 |
Israel | 54,819 |
USA | 52,349 |
South Korea | 44,442 |
UAE | 28,114 |
Brazil | 25,966 |
