The Turkish Steel Exporters’ Association (CIB), which visited the Lithuanian capital Vilnius with a trade delegation on March 18-20 with the aim to increase the trade volume between the two countries and expand Turkish steel exporters’ presence in the Baltic countries, has stated that Turkey’s steel exports totaled 14.5 million mt with a value of $14.9 billion in 2023 despite safeguard measures, the EU import quotas, the US Section 232 measures and countries such as Egypt and Algeria becoming net exporters.
Stating that Turkey exports 50-55 percent of its steel production, Adnan Aslan, CIB chairman, stressed that they will continue to work to strengthen their presence in existing markets and in new markets to achieve their 15 million mt export target for this year. Pointing out that the capacity utilization rates of the Turkish steel industry are currently at 50-55 percent, Mr. Aslan stated that the low levels of capacity utilization rates do not create a positive picture for the industry.
Noting that Lithuania is important for the Turkish steel industry in terms of raw material supply, Aslan commented, “When we look at our commercial relations that have been continuing for many years, we see that Turkey’s exports to Lithuania stand at 40,000 mt and that its scrap imports from the country are around one million mt. We believe that our delegation will pave the way for new collaborations as well as joint investments.”