Turkey should protect the market from Chinese steel as soon as possible – TCUD

Turkey should introduce restrictive measures against Chinese steel as soon as possible to avoid becoming an open market, as imports of steel products from China to the country continue to grow exponentially. This is the opinion of the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD).

“While in 2020, Turkey imported 396 thousand tons of steel from China, in 2022 this figure increased to 1.9 million tons, and in 2023 – to 3.3 million tons. Many countries are currently protecting their domestic markets from China, and to prevent our country from becoming an open market, measures to limit the influx of Chinese steel must be taken as soon as possible. This will help not only improve the state of the steel industry but also reduce the foreign trade deficit,” the statement said.

In January-July 2024, Turkey increased exports of steel products by 45.3% compared to the same period in 2023. At the same time, imports decreased by 14.8% y/y – to 9.4 million tons. The export-import coverage ratio, which stood at 47.8 in January-July 2023, rose to 75.8% in January-July 2024. Steel production for the period increased by 14.9% y/y – to 21.7 million tons.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2023, Turkey reduced steel production by 4% compared to 2022, to 33.7 million tons, and in 2022 – by 12.9% y/y, to 35.1 million tons. The decline in steel production in the country in 2022-2023 is due to macroeconomic instability, which has led to high uncertainty in the domestic market.

There are 29 steelmaking plants in Turkey, including 3 blast furnace plants and 26 electric arc furnaces. Their annual steelmaking capacity is estimated at about 60 million tons. In other words, in 2023, capacity utilization was 58.5%.