The Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB) has stated that, despite all the factors adversely affecting the performance of the sector, the Turkish steel industry began the New Year with an increase in its export volume. In January this year, Turkey's steel exports increased by 5.1 percent year on year to 1.3 million mt, while the value of these exports totaled $628 million, down 26.3 percent on year-on-year basis, according to the data released by the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB).
In January, Turkey's main steel export destination was the Middle East, which received 373,000 mt of steel products from Turkey. The Middle East was followed by North Africa and the EU, which imported 276,000 mt and 235,000 mt of Turkish steel products, respectively. In the given month, Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded the highest year-on-year increases in steel product imports from Turkey.
Meanwhile, in January, Turkey's main exported steel product was rebar with total exports amounting to 627,000 mt. Rebar was followed by welded pipe exports totaling 133,000 mt, hot rolled flat steel exports amounting to 120,000 mt, and steel profile exports reaching 101,000 mt.
“We made a good start to 2016 with 5.1 percent increase in steel exports, which is supported by the recovery in the EU and North Africa. However, despite the increase in export volume, our steel industry remains under pressure. In January this year, our average steel price stood at $499/mt, decreasing from the $711/mt recorded in the same month of last year. The 26.3 percent decline in the export value in January this year also reflects this decrease in average steel prices,” commented CIB chairman Namık Ekinci.