Turkey imported over 460 thousand tons of iron ore from Ukraine in Q1

The total import of iron ore by Turkish consumers in January-March amounted to 2.53 million tons

Turkey increased imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 15.4 times in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, up to 461.24 thousand tons. This is evidenced by preliminary data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), SteelOrbis reports.

In March, Turkish consumers imported 229.4 thousand tons of iron ore from Ukraine, while in March last year, such imports were not carried out.

Overall, in January-March this year, Turkey increased iron ore imports by 37.9% year-on-year – to 2.53 million tons. In March, it decreased by 16.7% m/m and 33.1% y/y – to 856.2 thousand tons. Revenue from these imports amounted to $123.34 mln, down 13.2% m/m and 56.9% y/y.

In the first quarter of2024, Brazil became the largest supplier of iron ore to Turkey, with 1.46 million tons.

In 2023, Turkey reduced imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 1% compared to 2022, to 582 thousand tons. The total volume of iron ore imports to this country last year decreased by 4% y/y – to 9.58 million tons. This decline corresponds to a 4% y/y drop in steel production by Turkish steelmakers to 33.7 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in January-March 2024, Turkish steelmakers increased steel production by 28.4% y/y – to 9.53 million tons. Average monthly steel production for the quarter amounted to 3.18 million tons compared to 2.47 million tons a year earlier.