The Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (ÇİB) held more than 300 bilateral business meetings during its sectoral trade delegation visit to Latvia and Lithuania on October 4-9, 2026. According to a report published by Turkish newspaper Ekonomim, the Turkish steel industry aims to double its market share in the Baltic countries, where supply structures have changed following the Russia-Ukraine war, in the medium term.
A total of 19 Turkish steel producers and exporters participated in the meetings held in Riga and Vilnius, engaging with representatives of more than 70 importers and trading companies from the region. The meetings laid the groundwork for approximately $100 million in potential business volume.
Turkey becomes Lithuania's second-largest steel supplier
Yavuz Kılıç, ÇİB supervisory board member, stated that the Baltic countries have no domestic steel production and are dependent on imports. Noting that Russia was the region's largest supplier before the Russia-Ukraine war, Kılıç said that Latvia sourced 60-65 percent of its steel imports from Russia before the war.
According to ÇİB data, Lithuania's steel imports totaled 1.45 million mt in 2025. Turkey ranked as the country's second-largest steel supplier after Poland, exporting 148,404 mt and accounting for 10.2 percent of Lithuania's total steel imports. Meanwhile, Latvia's steel imports amounted to 719,000 mt in 2025, with direct imports from Turkey exceeding 22,000 mt.
Taking into account shipments to the region through Lithuania, Turkish steel exporters aim to double their overall presence in the Latvian and Lithuanian markets in the medium term. The main products in demand in the region include rebar, welded pipes and hot rolled flat steel products.
EU quotas restrict Turkey's steel exports
Addressing the trade barriers facing the Turkish steel industry, Mr. Kılıç stated that the EU's steel import safeguard measures and reduced quotas are restricting exports. He noted that Turkey does not face problems related to product quality or finding customers in the EU market, but that the main obstacle is the inability to export larger volumes because existing quotas are rapidly exhausted.
Mr. Kılıç also stated that delivery times for European producers have extended to three to four months and prices have increased, suggesting that European buyers may be willing to import from Turkey despite having to pay the out-of-quota duty.
Attention was also drawn to uncertainties surrounding the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, while Turkey's electric arc furnace-based production structure was highlighted as an advantage over Far Eastern competitors in terms of low-carbon steel production.
Istanbul steel summit targets $1 billion in potential business volume
Approximately 500 senior industry representatives from more than 50 countries are expected to attend the Steel Networking Summits event, which will be organized by ÇİB in Istanbul on October 25-27, 2026. The event will address trade wars, green transformation, artificial intelligence and global supply chains.
Through the buyer delegation meetings to be held as part of the event, the organizers aim to lay the groundwork for at least $1 billion in potential business volume.
