At the third session of 18th SteelOrbis Steel Conference “New Horizons in Steel Markets” held on Tuesday, November 28, in Istanbul, during a panel discussion moderated by Mesut Ozdol the panelists commented on developments in the Turkish steel industry and shared their expectations for the future of the industry.
Stating that Colakoğlu Metalurji will close 2023 with sales of three million mt, Kursad Aynas, sales manager at the company, said that production will be recorded in the range of 2.8-2.9 million mt. Reporting on the company’s investments, Mr. Aynas said that the target is to increases the total production capacity to four million mt in 2024, while the second slab furnace has been commissioned with a capacity of 1.5 million mt. Recalling that Turkey continues to face the US and EU safeguard measures, Aynas stated that the market conditions will become increasingly difficult and that countries, especially the EU, will focus on carbon taxes to protect their markets. The Colakoğlu official stated that, in order to get around the current and future negative conditions, the Turkish steel industry should focus on the production of high value-added products. Meanwhile, pointing out that the countries that want to sell at dumped prices are focusing on Turkey, he stated that the Turkish market should not be so cheap. Considering that one of the biggest risks for the future is the availability of raw materials, Aynas said that the Turkish steel industry also continues to face financial risks and high inflation.
Asuman Gursoy, secretary general of the Association of Cold Rolled, Galvanized and Coated Coil Manufacturers (SOGAD), started her speech by talking about the installed capacities in Turkey, stating that there are nine million mt of cold rolled coil, 3.6 million mt of annealing, 5.8 million mt of galvanizing, and 1.6 million mt of painted coil production capacities in the country. Stating that the additional investments that have been and will be commissioned in the country increase the pressure on the Turkish cold and galvanized coil producers to export, Gursoy stated that there is a brutal competitive environment in the domestic market. She said that the increase in dumped hot rolled coil imports to Turkey was due to uncompetitive prices in the domestic market resulting from high production costs. She also added that geopolitical problems, increasing capacities, restrictions due to the carbon border adjustment mechanism, access to finance, and decreasing demand will continue to be the risks facing the Turkish steel market in the future.
Regarding hot rolled coil imports, Gokhan Mercanli, deputy general manager of purchasing at Coskunoz Metal Form, stated that, as an automotive industry player, they use 15-20 percent imported hot rolled coil for high value-added products, and that they would not be able to produce without imported HRC. Mercanli recommended end-users to establish long-term project partnerships with strong companies to ensure sustainability in the face of market turmoil.
Another panelist, Mehmet Cakmur, board member of Kocaer Steel, stated that his company exports at least 75 percent of its production to 140 countries. Stating that the capacities in the global steel market are constantly increasing, whereas the export share is not growing, Mr. Cakmur said that Turkey, which wants to gain export shares despite safeguard measures, should focus on exporting products that are manufactured from steel, i.e., indirect exports. Considering that it will not be enough for Turkey to enter new markets, Cakmur stated that the country needs to change its distribution chain and export methods in order to be sustainable in these markets and to increase its exports. He concluded by saying that the biggest risk the market will face is climate change and that government incentives for green steel production are of great importance.