Turkey: Ferrous scrap imports up 5% m-o-m in April

Turkey, the largest purchaser of ferrous scrap, noticed a slight rise of 4.5% in imports of the material at 2.11 million tonnes (mnt) in April 2022 vis-a-vis 2.02 mnt in the previous month, as per customs data maintained with SteelMint.

The strong domestic and overseas market of semis and finished steel products increased the shipments of scrap.

However, on a yearly basis, scrap imports decreased by 13% compared to 2.42 mnt in April 2021.

Market updates

• The UK and Netherland emerge as major exporters: The United Kingdom and Netherlands hold the position of top exporters of scrap to Turkey with 0.27 mnt each in April 2022 against 0.08 and 0.17 mnt a month ago.
  
  

Notably, the UK exports are the highest in the last 11 months in the absence of supplies from CIS. Imports from Russia fell to just 0.05 mnt in April 2022 against 0.22 mnt seen in January 2022.

• • The US second-largest exporter: The US stood as second-largest supplier with 0.26 mnt in April 2022. However, the exports went down by 49% m-o-m due to continuous hike in scrap prices along with supply constraints.
    
    
  • Crude steel output up: Turkey's crude steel production was 3.4 mnt in April 2022, a slight increase of 2% compared to the corresponding period last year (CPLY), as per figures released by the World Steel Association (WSA).
    
    
  • Lira crashes: The Turkish lira plunged further against the dollar. It hit a record low of TRY 14.67 against the US dollar in end-March 2022, vis-a-vis TRY 14.2 in end-February.