Turkish flat steel imports up 11% year-on-year

Turkey imported 444,505 tonnes of flat steel in November 2012, a 10.7% increase year-on-year, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

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Flat steel imports stood at 404,428 tonnes in November 2011.

The most significant increase was in coated products, where imports increased by 41.8% to 79,654 tonnes in November 2012, from 56,170 tonnes in November 2011.

In November, Turkey’s principal sources for coated flat steel were South Korea at 18,014 tonnes, Belgium at 14,746 tonnes, and Italy at 7,936 tonnes.

Turkey imported 275,126 tonnes of hot rolled flats in November 2012, a 6.8% increase from 257,565 tonnes in November 2011.

The largest suppliers were France at 66,261 tonnes, Russia at 65,697 tonnes, and Romania at 36,119 tonnes.

In November 2012, Turkey imported 52,298 tonnes of cold rolled flat steel, a 25.9% decline from 70,582 tonnes in November 2011.

The main sources were Russia at 24,969 tonnes, Romania at 6,184 tonnes, and Belgium at 4,151 tonnes.

Market participants contacted by Steel First noted that demand from the automotive sector, which is one of the biggest consumers of cold rolled coil, was very low in 2012.

Turkey imported 37,427 tonnes of narrow strip in November 2012, 118.7% higher than the 17,113 tonnes of November 2011.

Turkish traders believe import tonnages will be high in December and January as well, because cargoes were booked a couple of months ago when prices were quite low compared with local prices.