Turkey imported 1.1 million tons of iron ore from Ukraine in January-November

In January-November 2024, steel enterprises of Turkey imported 1.09 million tons of iron ore from Ukraine compared to 499.17 thousand tons in 11 months of 2023 (+119.3% y/y). This is evidenced by preliminary data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), SteelOrbis reports.

At the same time, Turkish consumers did not import iron ore of Ukrainian origin in November.

In general, over 11 months, Turkey increased iron ore imports by 14.1% y/y – to 9.08 million tons, while spending on it increased by 13.9% y/y – to $1.12 billion. In November, the country imported 267.89 thousand tons of this raw material, down 60.1% compared to October and 63.2% year-on-year. Import costs for the month amounted to $31.39 million, down 55.6% m/m and 62.9% y/y. The November figure is the lowest in 2024.

The main supplier of raw materials in January-November is Brazil – 4.64 million tons (-1.8% y/y). Ukraine ranks second among the exporters of iron ore to Turkey, and Sweden is the third – 989.93 thousand tons (-24.7 y/y).

As GMK Center reported earlier, in November 2024, Turkish steel enterprises increased steel production by 0.7% compared to the same period in 2023, to 3.010 million tons. The figure increased by 0.4% compared to the previous month. In January-November, steel production reached 33.91 million tons, up 11.2% compared to the same period in 2023.

Recently, WorldSteel downgraded its short-term forecast for global steel demand in 2024 to -0.9% y/y (1.75 billion tons). In particular, in Turkey, the figure will decrease by 5.5% compared to 2023, to 36 million tons. In 2025, the trend will continue, but the rate of decline will slow to 1.7% y/y (35.5 million tons).