Turkey imported almost 1 million tonnes of iron ore from Ukraine in January-July

In January-July this year, Turkish steel enterprises imported 929.68 thousand tonnes of iron ore from Ukraine, compared to 333.44 thousand tonnes in 7 months of 2023 (+178.8% y.y). This is evidenced by preliminary data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), SteelOrbis reports.

In particular, in July, the country imported 77.03 thousand tonnes of Ukrainian iron ore, which is 51.4% less than in the previous month. At the same time, in July 2023, this volume was 3.2 thousand tonnes.

In general, over 7 months, Turkey increased iron ore imports by 58% y/y – to 6.68 million tonnes, while spending on it increased by 61.9% y/y – to $869.34 million. In July, the country imported 1.26 million tonnes of this raw material, up 34.5% compared to June and 98.8% year-on-year. Import costs for the month amounted to $148.81 million, up 27.2% m/m and 101.5% y/y.

Brazil was the main supplier of raw materials in January-July, with 3.37 million tonnes (+15.6% y/y). Ukraine ranks second among iron ore exporters to Turkey, and South Africa is third – 861.14 thousand tonnes (60 tonnes in January-July 2023).

In January-July 2024, Turkish steel companies increased steel production by 14.9% year-on-year – to 21.7 million tonnes. In July of this year, Turkish steelmakers produced 3.1 million tonnes of steel, up 4% compared to July 2023 and 0.5% more than in July 2023.

There are 29 steelmaking plants in Turkey, including 3 blast furnace plants and 26 electric arc furnaces. Their annual steelmaking capacity is estimated at around 60 million tonnes. This means that in 2023, capacity utilisation was 58.5%.