[Market Insight] Turkey Steel Industry Overview

Turkey is the seventh-largest steel producer globally and the largest one in Europe. Today the country has 26 electric arc furnace mill plants (EAF), 11 induction furnace plants, and 3 BOF plants.

Turkish Steel Figures 2021

• Turkey’s crude steel production in 2021 exceeded 40 million tons， a Y-o-Y increase of 12.7%, reaching a record high;

• Production at EAF mills increased by 16.6% to 28.9mt and at integrated mills by 3.9% to 11.5mt;

• Turkey's wire rod exports amounted to 1.42 million tons in 2021, up 12.8% Y-o-Y；

• Turkish flat steel exports up by 20% in 2021.

Turkish Export Destination

• EU: According to 2020 figures, Turkey’s main export region is the EU, with a decrease of 5.8 million tons, or 18.7%, accounting for 29% of Turkey’s total steel exports.

• ME: Middle East is another main export destination of Turkish steel exports with 4.8 million tons and Turkey’s export to the region increased by 0.2% in 2020.

• North America: Turkish steel exports to North America increased by 53.2% in 2020.

• North Africa and Latin America: Turkey’s steel export decreased to North Africa and Latin America by 11.8% and 3.1% respectively.

Turkish Steel Capacity

Turkey's steel production is mainly divided into four production areas:

1) Marmara production area (capacity: 15.2 million tons),

2) Aegean production area (capacity: 11.3 million tons),

3) Mediterranean production area (production capacity: 16.7 million tons),

4) Black Sea production area (capacity: 8.3 million tons).

Turkey's three major integrated steel mills: Erdemir, Isdemir, and Kardemir, together account for more than 30% of the country's total crude steel production, and the remaining 29 are electric furnace steelmaking.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer, has its own steel mill in Istanbul, Turkey, and Yildiz Demir Celik, Also Turkey's largest steel producer, is planning to build a hot rolling plant with a capacity of 3.5 million tons in Kocaeli Kape, western Turkey. Dama Steel Company, one of the main turkey steelmakers has a factory in Istanbul near the port of Ambarli.

Main Ports in Turkey

Turkey, with its advantageous geographical location, has numerous ports, but the main five ports are located in ISTANBUL, IZMIR, BANDIRMA, ISKENDERUN, ANTALYA. Among them, the port of ISKENDERUN is located on the east coast of Iskenderun Bay on the southeast coast of Turkey, which is the port of entry into West Asia and the Indian Ocean in the Mediterranean Sea before the opening of the Suez Canal, mainly exporting iron ore, steel, and other products.

About CUMIC

As an integrated steel trading solution provider, we, CUMIC Steel Limited, have long-term cooperation with over 300 mills worldwide. In particular, we are able to provide all-in-one solutions including products from these top mills for your industrial needs. For queries, please contact CUMIC at cumic@cumic.com.