Turkiye: Ferrous scrap imports jump by over 50% m-o-m in July amid better steel demand

Turkiye's ferrous scrap import volumes stood at 1.89 million tonnes (mnt) in July 2023, marking a significant hike of 55% m-o-m against 1.22 mnt in June. On a y-o-y basis too, imports jumped 38% against 1.36 mnt in July 2022.

In the first seven months of the current calendar year, scrap imports totaled 11.5 mnt, down 16% as against 13.64 mnt seen in the corresponding period of last year.

Country-wise imports

Imports from the US surge m-o-m: Turkish mills imported about 0.62 mnt of scrap from the US in July 2023, higher by a whopping 148% as compared to 0.25 mnt in the previous month. Moreover, on an annual basis too, imports jumped 63% against 0.38 mnt in July 2022.

Imports from Belgium stable: Ferrous scrap imports from Belgium into Turkey stood at 0.14 mnt in July 2023, stable m-o-m, and up by 27% against 0.11 mnt in July 2022.

Imports from UK: The UK exported 0.15 mnt of scrap to Turkiye in July in comparison with 0.02 mnt seen in June. However, on a y-o-y basis, import volumes dropped 6% against 0.16 mnt in July 2022.

Imports from the Netherlands: In July 2023, Turkiye's import of scrap from the Netherlands reached 0.19 mnt, marking a significant increase of 0.08 mnt or 73% compared to the previous month when it stood at 0.11 mnt. It's worth noting that there were no imports from the Netherlands in the same period last year.

Semi and finished steel imports

Billet imports: Turkiye's steel billet imports rose by 26% m-o-m in Jul'23 to 498,191 t from 395,921 t in Jun'23, as per data recently released by Customs. Russia was the major exporter with 250,951 t followed by Malaysia with 64,362 t. Meanwhile, import volumes increased by 42% to 3.88 mnt y-o-y in Jan-Jul'23 as against 2.72 mnt in the year-ago period.

Rebar exports: Turkiye's rebar exports rose by 9% m-o-m in Jul'23 to 381,461 t from 348,752 t in Jun'23. Israel was the top importer at 99,461 t followed by Yemen at 75,278 t during the period. However, export volumes fell by 53% to 2.02 mnt y-o-y in Jan-Jul'23 as against 4.26 mnt in the year-ago period.

Key updates-

Crude steel production: In July, Turkish mills produced 2.89 mnt of crude steel, representing a 1.7% decrease from the previous month's output of 2.94 mnt. Nevertheless, when compared to the same month in the previous year, production saw a notable increase of 6% compared to the 2.72 mnt produced during that period.

Lira depreciates: The value of the Turkish lira dropped to 26.926 at the end of July from 26.0423 at the end of June.

Outlook: Imported ferrous scrap volume is likely to see a decline in August due to the uncertain economy and high-interest rate recently announced by the Turkish central bank. The rebar market also to witness a sluggish phase which would affect scrap procurement patterns of major steel mills.