The 5th YISAD Flat Steel Conference & SteelOrbis Market Talks held in Istanbul on May 11 gathered together about 250 participants from the flat steel market. Gökhan Demiruz, chairman of Turkey's Association of Flat Steel Importers and Manufacturers (YISAD), who made the opening speech at the meeting, stated that the aim of the event was to create awareness by exchanging ideas about the past and present of the flat steel sector, by talking about the advantages and disadvantages of the industry and discussing what the sector expects for the next 10 years.
The YISAD chairman stated that the flat steel sector in the last six months, even in the last year, has been focusing with serious efforts on exports and that the sectoral leaders must do their best to make this situation sustainable. In the 2005-2015 period, consumption of flat steel increased by 75 percent and it is expected that flat steel consumption in Turkey will reach 27-28 million mt within 10 years depending on all developments in Turkey and the world, he added.
Mr. Demiruz also emphasized that the Turkish flat steel industry should focus on exports and in the coming years exports should be increased with new capacities. The global flat steel industry has a foreign trade volume of 220 million mt, but the Turkish flat steel exports of the industry amount to only 3 million mt, he highlighted. In 2015-2016, Turkish flat steel exports increased by 23 percent. In the first quarter of this year, Turkey’s flat steel exports totaled 1.1 million mt and it is expected that they will reach 4.4 million mt by the end of 2017, stated.
In addition, Demiruz said that sectors such as the pipe sector, which buy products from the flat steel sector as feedstock, should be addressed as they have a significant export volume. According to Demiruz, 30 percent of flat steel consumption in Turkey is carried out by the welded pipe and beam sector, 25 percent by the machinery manufacturing sector, 15 percent by the construction sector, 10 percent by the automotive sector, seven percent by white appliance manufacturers and three percent by the shipbuilding sector.