In July of this year, Turkey's crude steel production surged by 7.7 percent compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 2.9 million metric tons, as reported by the Turkish Steel Producers' Association (TCUD). However, the overall picture for the January-July period saw a decline of 13.3 percent year-on-year, with Turkey producing 18.8 million metric tons of crude steel. Despite this dip, Turkey still held the eighth position in global crude steel production, trailing behind Germany. Notably, July marked the first increase in the country's steel production in 14 months.
During the same month, Turkey witnessed a significant rise in its finished steel consumption, with a 26.9 percent year-on-year increase to 3.4 million metric tons. Over the January-July period, the country's finished steel consumption also grew by 17.1 percent, totaling 23.3 million metric tons.
Conversely, Turkey's steel exports experienced a decline in July, dropping by 27.4 percent to 851,700 metric tons, with the export value decreasing by 40.2 percent to $675.5 million year-on-year. In the first seven months of the year, Turkey's steel exports fell by 44.2 percent, reaching 5.3 million metric tons, and their value dropped by 51.1 percent to $4.6 billion.
July saw an uptick in Turkey's steel imports, rising by 16.1 percent to 1.5 million metric tons, although the import value decreased by 7.1 percent to $1.4 billion year-on-year. Over the January-July period, the country's steel imports increased by 22.0 percent to 11.0 million metric tons, with their value declining by 4.7 percent to $9.5 billion year-on-year.
In terms of trade balance, Turkey's steel export-to-import ratio dropped to 48.0 percent for the January-July period, a significant decrease from the 93.4 percent recorded in the same period the previous year.
The Turkish Steel Producers' Association expressed concerns about the continuous decline in crude steel production and exports during the first seven months of the year, despite ongoing investments and capacity additions. They highlighted the substantial increase in wire rod imports in recent months, particularly noting a 93.3 percent rise in the January-July period. The TCUD called for urgent measures to address these challenges.
Additionally, it's worth noting that steel imports from China, Turkey's second-largest source of steel imports after Russia, surged by 84 percent in the first seven months of the year. The association emphasized the importance of preventing China from flooding the Turkish market with surplus steel due to the contraction of its construction sector, as this could exacerbate the trade deficit in Turkey's steel industry.
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