Turkey’s leading steel producer, the Erdemir Group, recorded liquid steel production at 4.5 million tonnes (mn t) in the first six months (Jan-Jun) of CY’21. Production volumes increased by 7.8% y-o-y as compared to 4.25 mn t in H1CY’20, as per the company results.
In Q2, the company produced 2.23 mn t of liquid steel, down 4.8% q-o-q as compared to 2.35 mn t in Q1CY’21. However, on a y-o-y basis, the same rose by 13.4% as compared 1.97 mn t in Q2CY’20.
Finished steel output up 3.8% y-o-y
The company’s finished steel production increased by 3.8% y-o-y in Jan-Jun’21 to 4.14 mn t as compared to 4 mn t in the corresponding period last year (CPLY). Flat steel products (including both HRCs and CRCs) accounted for 90% of the total finished steel output at 3.74 mn t, and the remainder (404,000 t) was long steel products. Production from its Eregli plant was at 2.15 mn t while its Iskenderun plant produced total 1.99 mn t.
Finished steel production in Q2CY’21 was recorded at 2.12 mn t, up 5.7% q-o-q and 5.4% y-o-y.
Steel shipments up 3.8% y-o-y
Steel product shipments amounted to 4.02 mn t in the period under review, up slightly by 2% as against 3.94 mn t in CPLY. Out of total steel shipments, flat steel products (HRCs and CRCs) totalled 3.64 mn t and the remainder 380,000 t was long steel shipments. Shipments from Eregli plant were recorded at 2.15 mn t and from Iskenderun plant at 1.86 mn t. Steel exports in H1 stood at 619,000 t, accounting for 16.4% share in total sales volume.
However, steel shipments in Q2 were largely stable q-o-q and y-o-y at 2.01 mn t, of which 406,000 t were exports, accounting for 20.2% share in total sales.
Turkey’s steel market overview
- Turkey’s total finished steel production (flats and longs) in the first half of CY’21 rose by 23.3% y-o-y to 20.7 mn t as against 16.8 mn t in CPLY.
- Steel consumption in H1CY’21 stood at 17.4 mn t, a 30% y-o-y growth over CPLY.
- The country’s steel exports in H1 reached 9.3 mn t, up 17.7% y-o-y. On the other hand, steel imports saw a significant 34.4% rise 8.2 mn t in the same period.
According to the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD), the country’s crude steel production is expected to cross 39 mn t this year, higher than 35.8 mn t produced in CY’20 amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. This expected output figure for 2021 will be a historic high level. This target is in line with an expected growth in Turkey’s 2021 steel consumption and a rise in export volumes on firm global demand.
The recently announced Turkish steel investment projects are likely to bring up the country’s annual crude steel output to about 40 mn t in the years to come, market sources expect.
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