Deliveries of Ukrainian billets to Turkey increased by 3.1 times y/y over 10 months

In January-October 2024, Turkey increased imports of steel billets from Ukraine by 3.1 times compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 177.01 thousand tons. This is evidenced by data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), SteelOrbis reports.

In general, Turkish consumers imported 2.8 million tons of billets in 10 months, which is 5.3% more than in January-October 2023.

The largest suppliers of the relevant products to Turkey in January-October are the Russian Federation – 541.23 thousand tons (-55.5% y/y), Malaysia – 531.81 thousand tons (+225.5% y/y), Indonesia – 329.64 thousand tons, Algeria – 233.7 thousand tons (-47.2% y/y), China – 256.31 thousand tons (22.82 thousand tons in January-October 2023) and Ukraine.

In October, Turkish steelmakers imported 628.53 thousand tons of billets, up 97.6% compared to September and 6 times year-on-year.

In October, Ukraine shipped 36.78 kt of billets to Turkey, up 16% m/m, while in October 2023, it did not export any.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, Turkey increased its imports of billets by 22% compared to 2022, to 3.07 million tons. The Russian Federation shipped 1.39 million tons of products (-7.3% y/y), Algeria – 547.5 thousand tons (+392%), Oman – 251.5 thousand tons (+1.6%).

Last year, Ukraine shipped 67.13 thousand tons (-42.9% y/y) of billets to Turkish consumers. In 2024, Ukrainian steelmakers are likely to increase exports to alternative markets to the EU thanks to the establishment of the sea corridor, including Turkey, if there is such demand.