Crude steel production in Turkey increased by 25.4 percent year on year in November last year to 2.99 million mt, ranking seventh in terms of global crude steel production, according to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD). In the January-November period last year, Turkey produced 30.5 million mt of crude steel, down by 6.1 percent year on year.
In November, Turkey’s finished steel consumption rose by 30 percent to 3.2 million mt, while in the January-November period the country’s finished steel consumption increased by 18.3 percent to 35.1 million mt, both year on year.
In November, Turkey’s steel exports decreased by three percent to 800,000 mt, while the value of these exports declined by 19.8 percent to $617.9 million, year on year. In the first 11 months, the country’s steel exports decreased by 34.4 percent to 9.4 million mt, while the value of these exports fell by 43.4 percent to $7.5 billion, both year on year.
In the given month, Turkey’s steel imports increased by 12.4 percent to 1.2 million mt, while the value of the imports moved down by 0.1 percent to $1 billion, both year on year. In the first 11 months of the year, the country’s steel imports increased by 18.3 percent to 16.0 million mt, while their value fell by 4.9 percent to $13.7 billion, both year on year.
In the January-November period, Turkey’s steel export to import ratio decreased to 54.52 percent, from 91.59 percent recorded in the same period of the previous year.
According to the association, the decrease in steel exports together with the increase in imports negatively affected the Turkish steel industry. Especially, wire rod imports from Egypt, Russia, Malaysia, South Korea, China and the UK increased extraordinarily. The TCUD stated that it is of great importance to prevent imports at subsidized and dumped prices that led to the decrease in the country’s steel export to import ratio and capacity utilization, and to focus on production of products for which Turkey does not have capacity by reviewing the country’s inward processing regime. The association forecasts that Turkey’s output and exports will increase in 2024 with the new capacities launched in the second half of 2023.