Crude steel production in Turkey decreased by 18.6 percent year on year in March this year to 2.7 million mt, according to a statement released by the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD). In the January-March period this year, Turkey produced 7.4 million mt of crude steel, down by 21.5 percent year on year. The Turkish steel industry, which ranked 10th in world crude steel production in the first two months, ranked 9th in the first three months of the year with the recovery in production in March. Thus, the production loss, resulting from the earthquakes on February 6, is expected to be fully offset as of the second half of the year.
In March, Turkey’s finished steel consumption rose by 33.7 percent to 3.4 million mt, while in the first quarter this year the country’s finished steel consumption increased by 4.9 percent to 8.9 million mt, both year on year.
In March, Turkey’s steel exports decreased by 52.8 percent to 810,600 mt, while the value of these exports declined by 54.3 percent to $725.1 million, year on year. In the first three months this year, the country’s steel exports decreased by 48.3 percent to 2.2 million mt, while the value of these exports fell by 51.5 percent to $1.9 billion, both year on year.
In March, Turkey’s steel imports increased by 42.9 percent to 1.7 million mt, while the value of these imports moved up by 5.9 percent to $1.4 billion, both year on year. In the first three months this year, the country’s steel imports increased by 5.9 percent to 4.1 million mt, while the value of these imports fell by 16.8 percent to $3.5 billion, both year on year.
In the first quarter, Turkey’s steel export to import ratio decreased to 53.9 percent, from 92.6 percent recorded in the same period of the previous year.
According to the association, Turkey’s flat steel imports increased by 32.2 percent in the first quarter this year as Russia and Far Eastern countries, which receive subsidies and export at dumped prices, focused on the Turkish market, while the implementation of import duties on flat steel was postponed. This increase caused the foreign trade deficit of the Turkish steel industry to widen and the export to import ratio to decline, raising the concerns that flat steel imports would increase and that the steel foreign trade deficit would continue to grow in May.
The association predicts that the Turkish steel industry will regain its competitiveness with the reductions in natural gas and electricity prices used in the industry, that production and exports will gradually improve in May and will stabilize as of June.