Turkey increased imports of billets from Ukraine by 2 times y/y in January-May

In January-May 2024, Turkish steel companies increased imports of steel billets from Ukraine by 107.5% compared to the same period in 2023, up to 40.65 thousand tons. This is evidenced by data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), SteelOrbis reports.

In May of this year, Turkey imported 10 thousand tons of Ukrainian-made billets, which is 100.8% more than in May 2023. The increase in imports of relevant products from Ukraine was facilitated by the opening of exports of mining and metals products by Ukrainian seaports, as well as the improvement of the situation on the Turkish steel market.

Overall, Turkish steelmakers reduced imports of billets by 31.7% in 5 months compared to January-May 2023. In May, this volume amounted to 155.29 thousand tons, down 43.7% m/m and 50% y/y.

In January-May 2024, the largest source of imports of billets by Turkey is the Russian Federation – 235.62 thsd tonnes (749.6 thsd tonnes in January-May 2023), Algeria – 163.09 thsd tonnes (-53% y/y), Indonesia – 155.16 thsd tonnes (not imported in January-May 2023), Malaysia – 147.24 thsd tonnes (+158.5% y/y). Ukraine ranks 7th in terms of billet supplies to Turkey.

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%), and 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.