Turkish companies exported 2.14mn mt of hot-rolled coil (HRC) in the first nine months of 2020 compared with 2.46mn mt in the same period last year due to escalated trade tensions.
Italy remained the most important destination for Turkish flat products in January-September, according to SteelData’s statistics, though shipments to the country decreased by 6.3pc to 733,000mt. Export to Egypt rose by 71pc to 321,000mt, while shipments to Spain dropped by 31.7pc to 296,000mt.
HRC supply from Turkey to Bulgaria increased to 128,000mt during the period under review from 96,000mt a year ago and the export of flat products to Iraq rose to 82,000mt from 39,000mt during the same period.
Turkey’s HRC shipments to China surged to 71,000mt in January-September from 32mt in the prior-year period.
The EU-28 region remained the main destination for Turkey’s HRC exports with a share of 65.7pc, though shipments fell by 24.2pc to 1.41mn mt, according to SteelData. Demand for Turkish flat products increased in North Africa in the first nine months of the year, with shipments to the region rising by 51.7pc to 396,000mt, which made up 18.5pc of the total HRC exported from Turkey.