Turkiye: Ferrous scrap imports drop over 20% y-o-y in May'23

Turkiye, the world's largest importer of ferrous scrap, witnessed a significant decline of 22% in import volumes on a y-o-y basis for May 2023, totaling 1.73 million tonnes (mnt) compared to 2.22 mnt in the corresponding period last year, as per customs data maintained with SteelMint.

On a monthly basis, Turkiye's ferrous scrap imports remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease of approximately 0.5% compared to April.

In contrast, Turkiye's crude steel production in May increased by 7% compared to April, reaching a total of 2.9 mnt, as reported by World Steel Association. However, when compared to May 2022, crude steel production declined by 9%.

The average price of imported HMS (80:20) scrap in bulk in May was recorded at $381/t, a considerable decrease from $494/t in May 2022 and $428/t in April 2023.

Additionally, between January and May 2023, Turkish ferrous scrap imports totalled 8.39 mnt, down 21% compared to the same period in 2022 when imports had been recorded at 10.68 mnt.

Steel market scenario

Turkiye boosted its finished long steel exports, particularly rebar, which increased 25% m-o-m in May. This contributed to an overall 31% increase in finished long steel exports during the same period.

Furthermore, Turkiye's steel billet imports witnessed a slight increase of 5% m-o-m, reaching 0.79 mnt in May. Russia remained the largest exporter of steel billets to Turkiye at 0.44 mn t, followed by Algeria at 0.05 mn t.

Lira depreciates: The Turkish lira depreciated slightly against the US dollar, with a value of 20.62 in May compared to 19.44 in April.

Country-wise shipments

• US and Germany increase supplies: The US remained the main supplier of scrap to Turkiye in May, which witnessed a significant increase of 63% compared to April, supplying 0.49 mnt, while Germany's scrap exports to Turkiye grew by 22% m-o-m reaching 0.11 mnt.
  
  
• Shipments from the UK, Belgium, and Netherlands fall: However, Belgium, the United Kingdom (UK), and the Netherlands experienced declines in their scrap shipments to Turkiye. Belgium's exports to Turkiye decreased by 42% in May compared to April, while the UK exported 0.08 mn t and the Netherlands supplied 0.12 mnt, witnessing declines of 43% and 60%, respectively.