Turkey’s billet imports up 13.3% in Q1, Malaysia and China preferred

In March this year, Turkey’s billet and bloom imports amounted to 195,398 metric tons, down 19.6 percent compared to February and by 37.9 percent year on year, according to the preliminary data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). Meanwhile, the revenue generated by these imports totaled $97.83 million, decreasing by 24.0 percent compared to the previous month and by 46.6 percent year on year.

In the January-March period, Turkey's billet and bloom imports amounted to 823,386 mt, up 13.3 percent, while the value of these imports increased by 0.4 percent to $423.22 million, both year on year.

Turkey’s billet and bloom imports - January-March 2025

In the given period, Turkey’s largest billet and bloom import source was Malaysia, which supplied 267,841 mt, up 596.4 percent year on year. Malaysia was followed by Russia with 188,093 mt, down 3.1 percent, and China with 102,376 mt, compared to only 50 mt of billet exports from China to Turkey in the first quarter of 2024.

SteelOrbis understands that Turkish buyers preferred to source billet from Asian countries, namely, China and Malaysia, as Chinese prices were attractive compared to Turkish mills’ own domestic billet production costs, while Malaysia is a duty-free source and has lower prices.

Turkey’s top 10 billet and bloom import sources in the January-March period this year:

Shares in Turkey’s billet and bloom imports - January-March 2025