Crude steel production in Turkey decreased by 2.9 percent year on year in August this year to 2.8 million mt, according to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD). In the January-August period this year, Turkey produced 21.6 million mt of crude steel, down by 12.1 percent year on year.
In August, Turkey’s finished steel consumption rose by 19.5 percent to 2.8 million mt, while in the January-August period this year the country’s finished steel consumption increased by 17.4 percent to 26.1 million mt, both year on year.
In August, Turkey’s steel exports decreased by 25.4 percent to one million mt, while the value of these exports declined by 33.4 percent to $775.8 million, year on year. In the first eight months this year, the country’s steel exports decreased by 41.8 percent to 6.4 million mt, while the value of these exports fell by 49.1 percent to $5.3 billion, both year on year.
In the given month, Turkey’s steel imports increased by 17.0 percent to 1.3 million mt, while the value of the imports moved down by 8.9 percent to $1.1 billion, both year on year. In the first eight months of this year, the country’s steel imports increased by 21.4 percent to 12.4 million mt, while their value fell by 5.2 percent to $10.6 billion, both year on year.
In the January-August period, Turkey’s steel export to import ratio decreased to 50.0 percent, from 93.3 percent recorded in the same period of the previous year, showing that the foreign trade deficit has reached unsustainable levels for Turkey’s economy and its steel industry.
According to the association, the country’s wire rod imports in the January-August period increased extraordinarily by 99 percent year on year, reaching 537,500 mt. On the other hand, HRC imports from China, which focused on exports due to the economic stagnation in its local market, increased by 162 percent year on year to 1.4 million mt in the first eight months. Looking at the export segment, a decrease was observed in Turkey’s steel exports to the EU and the US due to the weak demand in Europe and the increase in the market presence of China and the Middle Eastern countries, which hold advantages compared to Turkey in terms of input costs.
The association stated that, entering the last quarter of the year, it is important to place Turkey’s inward processing regime within a framework that will encourage domestic input supply in order to take the necessary steps to ease the protectionist measures applied against Turkey, to reduce energy costs and prevent extraordinary increases in imports.