Turkiye’s crude steel production increased by 4.4% year-on-year in April, reaching 2.8 million tons. The Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD) released data regarding steel production, consumption, and foreign trade for the month of April.
According to the data, Turkiye’s crude steel production in April saw a 4.4% increase compared to the same month last year, reaching 2.8 million tons. Production for the first 4 months of the year showed a significant rise of 22.1%, reaching 12.3 million tons.
While the final consumption of steel saw a 14% decrease in April, dropping to 3 million tons, it increased by 2.5% in the January-April period compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 12.8 million tons.
Exports of steel products increased both in quantity and value in April, with a 64.6% rise in quantity, reaching 1 million tons, and a 36.4% increase in value, totaling $769.5 million.
In contrast, imports decreased in April compared to the same month last year, with a 12.4% decrease in quantity, totaling 1.5 million tons, and an 18.5% decrease in value, reaching $1.2 billion.
The import-to-export ratio, which was 49.7% in the January-April period of last year, increased to 72.4% for the same period this year.
Veysel Yayan, the Secretary-General of TCUD, noted that despite Turkiye’s crude steel production reaching 12.3 million tons in the January-April period with a 22.1% increase, production in April remained at 2.8 million tons. He attributed the decrease in consumption in April to the elimination of the base effect caused by the high rate of consumption of long products observed after the earthquake in 2023.
Yayan highlighted the positive increase of 49.4% in exports during January-April, particularly emphasizing the 84.4% rise in flat products, which he deemed as a favorable development for increasing exports of high-value-added products. He also pointed out the declining trend in imports from March onwards, especially from China and the Far East, which, he stated, necessitates similar measures to those applied by the US and the EU to be taken urgently by Turkiye to maintain sustainable growth in exports and to increase the import-export ratio.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz