Turkey’s Flat Steel Exports to EU Soar in 2024
[tintuc]
Veysel Yayan, head of TCUD, said at an industry event in Istanbul on Tuesday that Turkey’s flat steel exports to the EU jumped to nearly 3 million tons in 2024.
Last year, Turkey exported 2.8 million tons of flat steel to Europe, an 87% increase from the year before.
Recently, Turkish mills have continued sending large amounts of hot-rolled steel coils to Europe in the first three months of 2025, though some in the market noticed a slight slowdown lately.
“I think we will cover 90% of the EU’s safeguard steel volume in this second quarter,” a factory source said.
Yayan commented that if Turkey can fully meet its domestic market needs, it could stay strong without relying on exports.
However, Turkey still depends on imports from China, which are closely tied to its exports. Data from 2024 shows nearly 2.9 million tons of flat steel imports came from China.
“We can’t compete with China. Turkey is one of the cheapest suppliers, but China sells $100 per ton below Turkey’s prices,” Yayan said.
In the first two months of 2025, the ratio of flat steel exports to imports was 52.7%, a worrying figure, Yayan noted.
This reliance on China shows no sign of changing. In January and February, compared to the same period last year, Turkey’s total flat steel imports only dropped slightly by about 100,000 tons.
During the same period, crude steel production fell 3% to 6.2 million tons, and capacity use dropped two percentage points to 62.6%.
Veysel Yayan, head of TCUD, said at an industry event in Istanbul on Tuesday that Turkey’s flat steel exports to the EU jumped to nearly 3 million tons in 2024.
Last year, Turkey exported 2.8 million tons of flat steel to Europe, an 87% increase from the year before.
Recently, Turkish mills have continued sending large amounts of hot-rolled steel coils to Europe in the first three months of 2025, though some in the market noticed a slight slowdown lately.
“I think we will cover 90% of the EU’s safeguard steel volume in this second quarter,” a factory source said.
Yayan commented that if Turkey can fully meet its domestic market needs, it could stay strong without relying on exports.
However, Turkey still depends on imports from China, which are closely tied to its exports. Data from 2024 shows nearly 2.9 million tons of flat steel imports came from China.
“We can’t compete with China. Turkey is one of the cheapest suppliers, but China sells $100 per ton below Turkey’s prices,” Yayan said.
In the first two months of 2025, the ratio of flat steel exports to imports was 52.7%, a worrying figure, Yayan noted.
This reliance on China shows no sign of changing. In January and February, compared to the same period last year, Turkey’s total flat steel imports only dropped slightly by about 100,000 tons.
During the same period, crude steel production fell 3% to 6.2 million tons, and capacity use dropped two percentage points to 62.6%.
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