Turkish steel export volumes fall 19.7% in May: CIB

Turkish mills’ steel export volumes fell by 19.7% year on year in May to 1.63 million mt, but the revenue generated from these exports rose 11% on the year to $1.9 billion, Turkish Steel Exporters’ Union, or CIB, said June 6.

According to CIB data, Turkish mills’ steel export volumes totaled 8.78 million mt in the first five months of 2022, down 2.6% on the year, while the revenue generated from exports reached $9.6 billion, up 34.6%, amid globally higher steel pricing.

Turkish mills’ steel export prices were strong in March due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosting natural gas prices, which also raised mills’ raw material costs, as they import most of their inputs, like scrap, pig iron, coal and ferro silico manganese, from Russia and Ukraine.

Rebar export prices rose as high as $970/mt FOB on March 24, $280/mt higher than on Dec. 31, but have gradually declined to $745/mt FOB on June 1, amid slower demand and lower imported scrap prices, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data.

The EU region remained Turkey’s largest export destination in January-May at $3.35 billion, up 36.8% on the year, CIB said without citing the tonnage.

Among individual countries, Israel was Turkey’s top steel export market in January-May, followed by Romania and the US.

The most significant rise was seen in shipments to Egypt, where exports totaled $430 million over January-May, up 228% on the year, CIB said, also without the tonnage.

“Shipments to Canada and Morocco also rose sharply by 182% and 162% in that period,” CIB added.

Total January-May exports reached $1,095/mt, up 38.2% on the year, with CIB chairman Adnan Aslan saying June 6 that the union would continue its efforts to increase steel export volumes and find new export markets.

— Cenk Can