Turkey’s scrap consumption up 3pc in Jan-Sep

Ferrous scrap consumption in Turkey increased by 3pc to 20.66mn mt in the first nine months of this year compared with January-September 2019 amid higher crude steel output, according to SteelData.

Turkish crude steel production totaled 25.9mn mt since the beginning of this year, 2.6pc up from the same prior-year period in 2019, according to Turkish Steel Producers Association (TCUD). The positive dynamics were attributed to a strong domestic market as consumption of finished steel products rose by 14.9pc to 21.9mn mt.

Turkey increased its ferrous scrap imports by 14.9pc to 16.13mn mt during the period under review, while its purchases from the domestic market decreased by 24.7pc to 4.52mn mt, according to SteelData’s statistics. Turkish mills imported 21pc of scrap from the USA, 13.6pc from the Netherlands and 10.7pc from Russia.

In September, crude steel output in the country rose by 18pc to 3.2mn mt on an annual basis, and the capacity utilization rate reached 78.2pc, TCUD data indicated. As a result, scrap import increased to 2.20mn mt in September from 1.71mn mt a year ago, according to SteelData.

Most ferrous scrap suppliers raised their shipments to Turkey in January-September 2020, as illustrated in the table below:

Top 10 ferrous scrap suppliers to Turkey (thousand mt)

Source: SteelData