TURKISH IRON STEEL SALES INCREASE IN FAR EAST

According to the information compiled from the data of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Turkey’s exports increased by 39.9 percent in the first 6 months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, from 75 billion 59 million 271 thousand dollars to 104 billion 982 million 69 thousand dollars. In the first half of the year, exports to Far East countries amounted to 1 billion 999 million 969 thousand dollars with an increase of 48.7 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. In the first 6 months of the year, steel, jewellery, chemicals and products, automotive industry and mining products were exported the most to Far East countries. The share of steel exports in exports to Far Eastern countries in the January-June period was recorded as 25.9 percent.
In the said period, steel exports to Far East countries increased by 116.5 percent and rose from 239 million 54 thousand dollars to 517 million 641 thousand dollars. Steel exports to Far East countries amounted to 153 million 381 thousand dollars in 2018 and 235 million 664 thousand dollars in 2019. Exports to China increased by 46.2 percent in the January-June period compared to the same period of the previous year, from 1 billion 151 million 519 thousand dollars to 1 billion 683 million 265 thousand dollars.
The share of Far East countries in Turkey’s exports was approximately 2 percent in the first 6 months of the year. In the said period, Turkey made the most foreign sales to China among the Far East countries. Most exports to China were made from Istanbul in the first half of the year. Exports of companies from Istanbul to China increased by 23.2 percent in this period compared to the same period of the previous year, from 387 million 670 thousand dollars to 477 million 480 thousand dollars.
Noting that the Turkish steel industry started to regain the Far East market with China’s change of strategy, Aslan said, «Because, since the beginning of the 2000s, we had to withdraw from this market due to the aggressive export policy of China. We directed it to the Far East market. Behind this success are factors such as our industry’s export experience as well as the ability to take quick action.» made its assessment. Aslan said, «While China, the biggest player in the global steel market, was export-oriented until last year, today it imports steel. So much so that Turkey imports steel outside of China’s export markets.» he said.
Noting that Turkey, which exported only 7.5 million dollars of steel to China in the first half of last year, achieved an export of 42.3 million dollars in the same period of this year, Aslan said, «With the withdrawal of a strong competitor like China from the export market, the Turkish steel industry has become very successful. We can say that we have entered a positive period. We think that this increase will continue to increase in the second half of the year.» made its assessment.
Mentioning that in addition to the Far East countries, the USA, Canada, Yemen, EU and Latin American countries come to the fore, the Aegean Union of Steel-Iron exporters president Ertan said: «Yemen, Germany, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom, Colombia, France, Egypt, Chile, Netherlands are among the top 133 countries we exported to in April. Production slowed down in March and April of 2020 due to the pandemic. People depended more on food. and basic necessities.Then, as of July 2020, the markets became active, and there was a tendency towards production. As of today, the supply has not been able to keep up with the demand and the prices have increased. The Turkish iron and steel industry has been an experienced industry in export markets since 1980. Far East markets such as China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines, and Singapore, to which we exported in significant quantities until 2004, experienced interruptions in the following years, but recently we have started to increase exports to these regions again. Consider that China alone produces 57 percent of the world’s 1.9 billion tons of iron and steel, and we continue to increase our exports to these regions, which are dominated by China, which is an important success for our industry.»
Adding that China started alternating production in coal-ore-based blast furnaces in order to reduce carbon emissions by 2030, Ertan said, «This has accelerated the purchase of semi-finished products and finished products from our country and other supplier countries such as Iran and Qatar. In addition, China will start from May 1st. abolished the 13 percent tax refund applied on the export of 146 items of steel products, excluding cold flat products. In addition, the taxes on imports of some raw materials were reset. This accelerated the flow of goods to China. As China became less competitive in Southeast Asian countries with the removal of export tax refunds, our sales opportunity to those markets has increased. The Turkish iron and steel industry has started to make big connections to countries such as China, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.