Turkiye increased scrap imports by 5.1% m/m in October 2022

In January-October 2022, the import of scrap metal decreased by 10.4% year-on-year

In October 2022, steel companies of Turkiye increased the import of scrap metal by 5.1% compared to the previous month – to 1.45 million tons. SteelOrbis reports about it with the reference to the data of the Association of Steel Producers of Turkiye (TCUD).

On an annualized basis, imports of scrap to Turkiye in October 2022 decreased by 7.5%. In January-October 2022, the volume of scrap imports decreased by 10.4% compared to the same period in 2021 – to 18.33 million tons.

The European Union became the main supplier of scrap to Turkiye in 10 months of 2022. During this period, Turkish steelmakers bought 9.6 million tons of scrap from the EU, which is 9.1% less than in January-October 2021. In the second place is the supply from the USA – 3.53 million tons (+15.9%). In January-October 2022, the CIS countries and Ukraine exported a total of 866,000 tons of scrap to Turkiye, which is 62.6% lower than last year.

The decrease in the volume of scrap imports into the country is associated with the low workload of local steel mills. In mid-August, Turkish steel plants were considering stoppages of production due to low demand and high costs. Such plants cannot ensure an increase in prices neither on the domestic nor on the export markets. As a result, the steel production becomes unprofitable.

From September, Turkiye raised prices on electricity and gas for industry by 50%, which will further worsen the situation for local steelmakers.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2021, Turkiye increased imports of scrap metal by 11.5% compared to 2020 – up to 25.1 million tons. The CIS countries and Ukraine in 2021 exported a total of 2.65 million tons of scrap to Turkish steelmakers, which is 9.7% more on an annual basis.

Turkiye is the seventh largest steel producer in the world. In 2021, Turkish steel plants increased steel production by 12.7% compared to 2020, to 40 million tons. This is a record result.