Turkey Steel Import Statistics - May 2019

Turkey, worlds largest ferrous scrap importer observed fall in imports of ferrous scrap, semi-finish, finished flat and finished long steel products in May'19, on the other hand, imports of coal, iron ore, ferro alloys and graphite electrodes increased against imports recorded in April'19, the recently released customs data showed.

Ferrous Scrap - Turkey's ferrous scrap imports witnessed a drop on a monthly basis in May'19. The country imported 1,812,213 MT ferrous scrap in May, down 10% M-o-M as against 2,010,964 MT of imports recorded in April '19, the recent data released by the customs department showed.

After recording above 2 MnT imports in Apr'19 on pre-Ramadan restocking at lowered prices, limited bookings were observed for May delivery as domestic finished steel demand remained low during the Eid season slowdown. Imported scrap offers for US origin bulk HMS 1&2 had fallen in April by at least USD 10-12/MT to around USD 308-310/MT, CFR Turkey, while global prices plunged further to USD 290/MT by mid-May'19 on low demand.

On an yearly premises imports increased by 10% Y-o-Y as against 1,650,673 MT ferrous scrap in May'18.

Country-wise - USA climbed up to become the largest supplier occupying a share of 17% in total scrap imports to Turkey, supplying 308,952 MT in May as against 316,652 MT in Apr'19, slightly down by 2% M-o-M, while UK again dropped to 2nd largest position, supplying just 251,518 MT with a 14% of share, dropping 27% M-o-M. Followed by other prominent suppliers, Netherlands (228,555 MT, down 22% M-o-M), Russia (155,492 MT, down 26% M-o-M) and Belgium (149,372 MT, down 0.5% M-o-M) occupying 13%, 9% and 8% share respectively.

Coal - Turkish coal imports have increased 19% on the month to 3,347,662 MT in May'19, driven by a surge in coking coal intake. Imports volumes were, however, marked 12% lower on the year from 3,805,513 MT in May'18.

Country-wise - Data provided by customs indicates that the country's intake of coking coal had attained an 18-month high total of 704,393 MT in May'19, following an uptick in supplies from Australia. Receipts from Australia totaled 545,368 MT, up from nothing in May last year. There was also an upsurge seen in US coal supplies which had increased 45% M-o-M to 423,605 MT in May'19.

Coal shipments from the US are likely to rise further following Turkey's decision to cut customs duty on imports of US coking coal to 5% from 10%, after the US halved its tax on imports of Turkish steel to 25% in May. Decline in Turkey's non-coking coal intake had lowered imports from its major coal supplier-Colombia, which had decreased 11% M-o-M to 1,183,140 MT in May'19.

Iron Ore - Turkey Iron Ore Imports Up 77% in May'19 - Turkey iron ore imports increased for the month to 992,277 MT, up 77% as against 564,614 in Apr'19. On yearly basis, imports fell 6% as against 1,048,814 MT in May'18.

Country-wise - Brazilian exports to Turkey recorded highest for the month at 414,151 MT, up 24% as against 334,358 MT in the last month. Canada and South Korea exports recorded at 171,466 MT and 165,716 MT respectively. Australian exports to Turkey recorded nil for the month as against 164,140 MT a month ago.

Finished Flat - On monthly basis Turkey's flat steel imports witnessed decline by 19% to 6,11,792 MT in May'19 as compared to 7,53,419 MT in previous month. Whereas on yearly premise the same dropped by 29% as against 8,63,261 MT in May'18.
Demand for steel in Turkey's domestic market remained seasonally dull in summer whereas political uncertainty further weakened Turkish Lira against USD, which led to fall in import volumes.

Country-wise - Turkey majorly imports flat steel from Russia which stood at 1,40,330 MT in May'19, dropping by 42% in comparison to 2,41,329 MT in previous month. Following this Turkey also imported flat steel from France at 73,165 MT, Ukraine at 64,440 MT, Netherland 25,745 MT, Romania at 56,312 MT and South Korea 25,048 MT in May'19.

Finished Long - Turkey's finished long steel imports witnessed a drop on a monthly basis in May'19. The country imported 78,104 MT in May, down 9% M-o-M as against 85,774 MT of imports recorded in April '19. On an yearly premises imports dropped by 11% Y-o-Y as against 88,097 MT in May'18.

Country-wise - Iran remained the largest supplier occupying a share of 26% in total finished long imports to Turkey, supplying 20,287 MT in May as against 20,121 MT in Apr'19, marginally down by 1% M-o-M. Followed by other prominent suppliers, Russia (18,656 MT, up 55% M-o-M) and Spain (12,210 MT, down 12% M-o-M) occupying 23% and 16% share respectively. Usually among the top suppliers, UK supplied 4,359 MT this month with a 6% share, down 78% M-o-M.

Semi Finished - Turkey's semi-finished steel imports observed a significant drop in May'19 as the country imported 305,217 MT in May, down 28% M-o-M as against 426,962 MT of imports reported in April'19. On an yearly premises imports dropped by 51% Y-o-Y as against 621,782 MT in May'18.

Billet imports to Turkey dropped by 38% M-o-M in May'19 and stood at 169,541 MT as against 273,411 MT is April, while a drop of 69% Y-o-Y was observed against 539,455 MT exported in May'18. Pig Iron imports to Turkey fell by 11% M-o-M and recorded at 135,676 MT against 153,500 MT in April while on an yearly basis, the same rose by 64% against 82,326 MT in May'18.

Country-wise - Russia remained the largest supplier occupying a share of 71% in total semi-finished steel imports to Turkey, supplying 216,520 MT in May as against 245,077 MT in Apr'19, down 12% M-o-M. Followed Ukraine which supplied 46,323 MT in May'19 with a 15% share, up 2% M-o-M.

Quantity in MT,
Source: SteelMint Statistics