Turkish steel companies confirm the need for import restriction measures

Turkey's steel production in February rose 8.2% year-on-year to 2.9 million tonnes, according to the Turkish Steel Manufacturers Association (TCUD), while production in January-February rose 12.7% to 5 , 9 million tons.

Consumption of finished steel in February was 3 million tons, up 68.3% year-on-year, while two-month use rose 63.3% to 5.7 million tons.

However, exports fell 8.9% in February to 1.7 million tonnes and 12.6% in value terms to $ 1.2 billion due to the impact of the coronavirus on the international steel market. In January and February, exports fell by -4.9% to 3.6 million tons and -9.6% to $ 2.5 billion, respectively.

Imports in February, however, increased by 31.2% to 1.1 million tons and by 14.8% in value terms to $ 857 million. In two months, imports increased by 40.4% to 2.6 million tons and by 16.3% to $ 1.8 billion.

In January-February, the ratio of exports to imports fell sharply to 138: 100 from 177: 100 in the same period last year.

Production growth in February was limited despite rising consumption due to increased imports, TCUD said. “To prevent imports, which have grown significantly in recent months, and foreign trade deficits, which increased by 86% in the first two months of the year, it is necessary to take measures to protect against imports of goods that are domestically produced,” said Veysel Yayan, Secretary General of TCUD.

In February, the coronavirus had a negative impact on steel consumption in Europe, but had a marginal impact on consumption in Turkey, which continued to improve due to the underlying effect, Yayan adds.

“However, in March, it is projected that the performance of Europe and the US will be very different, and the decline in consumption in these regions will accelerate, while the growth in steel consumption in Turkey is expected to begin to slow down,” he comments.

Yayan has repeatedly called for a halt in production at the Turkish plant - which he sees as temporary - in order to support measures that would allow for a strong restart.

On the other hand, global steel production in February reached 143 million tonnes, an increase of 2.8% year on year. Production volume in two months increased by 1% to 294 million tons.

Among the top 15 steel producing countries, Iran showed the largest production growth - 40.5% in January-February. Turkey ranked second in terms of production growth. Production in Germany continued to decline, falling 10.9% to 6 million tonnes.