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Turkiye’s crude steel production decreased by 21.5% annually in the January-March period due to the effects of earthquakes

Turkiye’s crude steel production in the January-March period decreased by 21.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, with the effect of the Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes, and became 7.4 million tons.

Turkiye’s crude steel production decreased by 21.5% annually in the January-March period due to the effects of earthquakes.

Turkiye’s crude steel production in the January-March period decreased by 21.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, with the effect of the Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes, and became 7.4 million tons.

Foreign trade data

Compared to March 2022, exports of steel products amounted to 810.6 thousand tons with a decrease of 52.8% in terms of quantity and $725.1 million with a decrease of 54.3% in terms of value.

In the January-March period, compared to the same period of 2022, exports amounted to 2.2 million tons with a decrease of 48.3% in terms of quantity and $1.9 billion with a decrease of 51.5% in terms of value.

Steel products imports, on the other hand, reached 1.7 million tons with an increase of 42.9% in terms of quantity and $1.4 billion with an increase of 5.9% in terms of value, compared to the same month of 2022.

Imports increased by 5.9% in terms of quantity compared to the same period of the previous year and reached 4.1 million tons in the January-March period. In terms of value, imports decreased by 16.8% to $3.5 billion.

The ratio of exports to imports, which was 92.6% in the first quarter of last year, decreased to 53.9% in the first quarter of this year.

“Expectations for the compensation of production loss gained strength in the second quarter of the year”

TCUD Secretary General Veysel Yayan told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the decrease in steel production in the first quarter of the year was also due to the Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes that occurred on 6 February.

Stating that the production in the region, which decreased to 227 thousand tons in February with the start of the activities of the steel producers in the earthquake region, increased to 534 thousand tons in March, Yayan said, “Turkiye’s total crude steel production reached 2.7 million tons in March with an increase of 28.9% compared to the previous month. The steel industry, which fell to the 10th rank in the world crude steel production ranking according to the production amounts in the first 2 months of the year, rose to the 9th rank, surpassing Italy in the first 3 months of the year, with the effect of the recovery in production in March. Thus, the expectations that the production loss in question will be fully compensated by the second quarter of the year have gained strength.”

Pointing out that Russia and Far East countries, which made state-supported production and dumped exports in the first quarter of this year, could not export to the USA and the EU, Yayan said:

“For this reason, their continued concentration on the Turkish market, the postponement of customs duties on flat products, caused a 32.2% increase in imports while flat product exports decreased by 36.4%. This situation played an important role in the growth of the foreign trade deficit in our country’s steel industry, and the ratio of exports to imports, which was 92.6% in the first quarter of last year, decreased by 53.9%, raising the concerns that flat product imports would increase and the steel foreign trade deficit would grow gradually in May. With the effect of the shrinkage in global demand and high energy prices in March, our steel industry, whose export data contracted compared to the same month of the previous year, it is expected that it will regain its competitiveness in global markets with the discounts applied to the natural gas and electricity used in the industry, that the production and export figures will gradually improve in April and May, and will stabilize from June and surpass the 2022 production levels.”

Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz

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