Turkey increased its exports of steel products by 18% year-on-year in January-May

In January-May 2025, Turkey increased its exports of steel products by 18% compared to the same period in 2024, to 6.3 million tons. In terms of value, the figure reached $4.3 billion (+7.9% y-o-y). This is evidenced by data from the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD).

In May of this year, steel exports increased by 21.1% compared to May 2024, reaching 1.4 million tons. Export revenue increased by 9.2% year-on-year, reaching $922.8 million.

Imports of metal products increased by 6% over the first five months compared to January-May of the previous year, reaching 7.5 million tons, and in May, they increased by 24.6% year-on-year, reaching 1.9 million tons. Import costs reached $5.3 billion (-5.1% y-o-y) in the first five months and $1.3 billion (-0.1% y-o-y) in May. The export-to-import coverage ratio fell from 80.7% to 71%.

Domestic consumption of finished metal products decreased by 4.7% y-o-y to 15.5 million tons in January-May, and increased by 1.1% y-o-y to 3.4 million tons in May. Steel production in the first five months fell by 1.4% y/y to 15.4 million tons. In May, Turkish metallurgists produced 3.1 million tons of steel (-2.8% y/y).

Despite the decline in production, Turkey retained its position as the leading steel producer in Europe and seventh in the world. This was facilitated by growth in exports, while domestic consumption declined and imports, especially from China and Russia, increased. Turkish producers are facing pressure from dumping prices and excessive imports, which threatens the efficient use of production capacity.

«The industry needs urgent measures to review trade regimes and import controls. Additional pressure is created by internal regulatory norms that limit the financial flexibility of enterprises. In this context, protecting the domestic market and updating trade agreements are key to maintaining the competitiveness not only of the metallurgical industry, but of the country’s entire industry,» notes TCUD.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Turkey increased its steel exports by 27.6% y-o-y – to 13.4 million tons in 2024. Steel imports amounted to 17.4 million tons (+1.7% y-o-y) in 2024. Rolled steel consumption in the country grew by only 0.6% year-on-year last year, to 38.3 million tons.