Turkey’s billet imports from Malaysia keep climbing

In May this year, Turkey’s billet and bloom imports amounted to 478,021 metric tons, up 78.0 percent compared to April and by 207.8 percent year on year, according to the preliminary data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). Meanwhile, the revenue generated by these imports totaled $234.13 million, increasing by 71.1 percent compared to the previous month and by 159.4 percent year on year.

In the January-May period, Turkey's billet and bloom imports amounted to 1.60 million mt, up 35.5 percent, while the value of these imports increased by 19.1 percent to $794.22 million, both year on year.

Turkey’s billet and bloom imports - last 12 months

In the given period, Turkey’s largest billet and bloom import source was Malaysia, which supplied 515,202 mt, up 250 percent year on year, since Turkish importers were inclined to deal for this duty-free origin. Malaysia was followed by Russia with 317,244 mt, up 34.6 percent, taking advantage of the shorter lead time and the possibility to book lots smaller than 50,000 mt. Ukraine also managed to strengthen its position due to similar reasons, while also being a clean origin compared to sanctioned Russian material. According to the statistics, Omani billet exports to Turkey increased greatly over the mentioned period, but sources assume most of this volume is in fact Iranian. Algeria, which was quite active in billet exports last year, this year shipped only up to 50,000 mt. In the meantime, China, currently a most plentiful source of billet, sold 193,269 mt to Turkey in the January-May period this year, versus almost nonexistent supply in the same period last year due to buyers’ preference for other origins.

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

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