Turkish buyers imported 69,000 mt of stainless coils in the first month of 2021, notably higher than the 52,200 mt imported in the same month the previous year, while Chinese suppliers continued to raise their shares in the Turkish stainless steel market with competitive prices.
China was Turkey’s top stainless coil supplier in January by shipping 26,600 mt with competitive prices, more than double year on year, S&P Global Platts observed from Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data.
Chinese shipments of stainless coil to Turkey rose more than 50% year on year to 163,500 mt in 2020, despite Turkey’s provisional import duty decree imposed on many steel products on April 18, including stainless steel, to protect domestic production and employment in the domestic steel industry during the pandemic, as reported.
The rising trend in Turkey’s stainless steel imports could continue this year, as steel consumption in Turkey, including stainless steel, is expected to rise further this year, amid the rise in industry output with the easing of the pandemic.
Turkey’s stainless sheet imports from Turkey’s other main supplier, South Korea, also rose in January to 23,400 mt, 18% higher on year, while imports from the EU fell notably year on year.
Turkey’s sole stainless cold-rolling mill, Posco Assan TST, based in Izmit, Kocaeli near Istanbul, has production capacity of 300,000 mt/year of 0.3-3.0 mm thick stainless CRC up to 1,600 mm wide.
— Cenk Can
