Turkey increased imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 2.2 times y/y in June

In June 2024, Turkish steel enterprises increased imports of iron ore from Ukraine by 2.2 times compared to June 2023 – up to 158.5 thousand tons. This is reported by Kallanish with reference to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

The share of Ukrainian raw materials in the Turkish market amounted to 30% over the month. The average transaction price was $151/t, while in June 2023 it was $139/t.

Overall, in July, Turkish steelmakers imported 936.08 thousand tons of iron ore, up 36% year-on-year and 6.5% compared to May.

Brazil is the largest supplier of raw materials to Turkish consumers. In July, import volumes amounted to 410.66 thousand tons, down 4.6% y/y. Uzbekistan is in second place with 174.55 thousand tons (not supplied in July 2023), and Sweden is in third place with 164.98 thousand tons (+0% y/y). Ukraine ranks 4th in terms of supplies.

In January-June, Ukraine exported to the Turkish market 852.6 thousand tons of iron ore, which is 2.6 times more than y/y. The total import of ore by Turkish consumers for 6 months is 5.67 million tons (+63% y/y).

In January-June 2024, Turkish steel enterprises increased steel production by 16.9% compared to the same period in 2023 – up to 18.61 million tons. In June, Turkey produced 3.07 million tons of steel, up 4.3% compared to June 2023 and 4.4% less than in June 2023.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, Turkey reduced iron ore imports from Ukraine by 1% compared to 2022, to 582 thousand tons. Last year, the total iron ore imports to the country decreased by 4% y/y – to 9.58 million tons. This decline corresponds to a drop in steel production by Turkish steelmakers – by 4% y/y, to 33.7 million tons.