Turkey reduced steel exports by 18.4% y/y in January

In January of this year, Turkey reduced its steel exports by 18.4% year-on-year, to 911,800 tons. This was reported by SteelOrbis, citing data from the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD).

The value of these exports decreased by 21.2% y/y – to $600.1 million.

Exports of flat and long products in January 2026 amounted to 315.9 thousand tons and 507.3 thousand tons, respectively, which is 15.5% and 25.6% less than in the same period of 2025. Exports of semi-finished products amounted to 88.55 thousand tons (+44.9% year-on-year).

Steel imports to Turkey in January decreased by 26.1% y/y – to 1.28 million tons, and their value fell by 26.5% y/y – to $879.4 million. Imports of flat and long products for the period amounted to 538.6 tons (-40.2% y/y) and 128.2 thousand tons (+30.2% y/y), semi-finished products – 610.8 thousand tons.

In January 2026, the ratio of steel exports to imports rose to 68.2% compared to 63.6% recorded in January last year.

Domestic consumption of rolled steel in the first month of the year fell by 1.7% y/y – to 3.53 million tons.

At the same time, steel production in Turkey in January 2026 increased by 5.8% y/y – to 3.39 million tons. Production of semi-finished products for the period amounted to 2.07 million tons and 1.32 million tons, increasing by 4.4% and 8.1% compared to January 2025.

It should be noted that Turkish steel companies increased steel production by 3.3% y/y – to 38.12 million tons in 2025. Pig iron production in the country decreased by 4.6% y/y – to 9.71 million tons last year.