Crude steel production in Turkey increased by 0.7 percent year on year in October this year to three million mt, according to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD). In the January-October period this year, Turkey produced 30.9 million mt of crude steel, up by 12.4 percent year on year. Although Turkey fell to ninth place in the list of the world’s largest crude steel producers in October, the country recorded the second-largest increase in crude steel output globally in the first 10 months of 2024.
In October this year, Turkey’s finished steel consumption fell by 19.0 percent to 3.4 million mt, while in the first 10 months this year its finished steel consumption decreased by 1.8 percent to 31.4 million mt, both year on year.
In the given month, Turkey’s steel exports decreased by 8.5 percent to 989,000 mt, while the value of these exports fell by 6.2 percent to $728.8 million, year on year. In the January-October period, the country’s steel exports increased by 30.7 percent to 11.2 million mt, while the value of these exports rose by 18.7 percent to $8.2 billion, both year on year. The country's flat and long steel exports in the first 10 months totaled 4.94 million mt and 5.93 million mt, respectively.
In October, Turkey’s steel imports increased by 39.8 percent to 1.7 million mt, while the value of these imports moved up by 16.8 percent to $1.2 billion, both year on year. In the first 10 months this year, the country’s steel imports decreased by 7.2 percent to 13.7 million mt, while the value of these imports fell by 15.6 percent to $10.7 billion, both year on year. In the January-October period, the country's flat and long steel imports totaled 6.73 million mt and 1.09 million mt, respectively.
In the January-October period, Turkey’s steel export to import ratio increased to 76.0 percent from 54.0 percent in the same period last year.
According to the TCUD, due to the contraction in steel demand, especially from EU countries, the increase in Turkey’s steel exports is expected to fall below 20 percent in the last two months of the year, while the high rate of the increase in imports is expected to be managed to establish a reasonable balance between exports and imports.