Turkiye increased steel production in November to the highest level since May 2022

In November 2023, Turkish steelmakers increased steel production by 2.4% compared to October, to 3.04 million tons. Thus, Turkish steelmakers have increased steel production to its highest level since May 2022. This is evidenced by data published on the World Steel Association website.

Compared to November 2022, Turkish steelmakers increased steel production by 27.3% in November 2023.

In January-November 2023, Turkish steelmakers produced 30.49 million tons of steel, down 6.1% from the same period in 2022.

The average monthly steel production in Turkiye in January-November 2023 amounted to 2.77 million tons, down 6.11% y/y.

Since October 2023, Turkiye has increased wholesale natural gas prices for large industrial enterprises by 20% compared to August. In addition, the country raised electricity tariffs by 20%, which puts additional pressure on the country’s steel industry.

The last time Turkiye raised natural gas prices was in September 2022. At that time, tariffs increased by 50% amid rising demand due to the military aggression of Russia, the largest gas supplier to Europe. This trend continued until the end of the year, but in February 2023, BOTAŞ announced a 13.3-17.2% reduction in natural gas prices for large industrial enterprises. This was followed by price adjustments in March and April – by 20.95-26.12% and 20.01%, respectively. Subsequently, tariffs remained stable.

In addition, at the end of 2022, the regulator of the energy market of Turkiye announced about reduction of electricity prices for industrial consumers by 16%.

Steel production in Turkiye in 2022 decreased by 12.9% compared to 2021 – to 35.1 million tons. TCUD expected a fall in production by more than 13%. During the year, steelmakers exported 19.6 million tons of steel, which is 17.7% less year-on-year. The main factors for the decrease in production are the increase in production costs and the drop in global demand for steel.