Turkey’s ferrous scrap imports largely stable on-month in Jan’22

Turkey, the world’s leading buyer of ferrous scrap, recorded imports of at 2.46 million tonnes (mnt) in Jan’22, largely stable against 2.49 mnt in Dec’21, as per SteelMint data.

Strong demand for raw materials in Turkey at the start of the year led to sustained scrap imports.

Imported scrap volumes into Turkey on a yearly basis saw a rise of 27% as against 1.93 mnt in Jan’21.

Producers had to top-up their stocks with overseas material. The suppliers from Ukraine and the USA were among the key players of cooperation with Turkish mills.

Market highlights:

• Ukraine largest exporter: Ukraine outpaced The Netherlands as the top exporter of ferrous scrap to Turkey with 0.34 mnt in Jan.
• The USA was the second-largest exporter with 0.31 mnt in Jan, followed by Russia at 0.22 mnt, as per SteelMint data.

Buyers preferred to book US cargoes as offers there were in agreement with demand by Turkish traders. Freight rates from the USA to Turkey fell which eased export prices of scrap, enticing buyers.

• Auto output subdued y-o-y – Turkey’s automotive sector produced 90,520 units of vehicles in Jan down 14.7% as against 106,176 units in Jan’21, including both automotive and commercial vehicles. Total exports stood at 67,799 units down y-o-y by 12.6% as against 77,558 unit in Jan’21, according to data released by Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD).
• Imported scrap prices fell in Dec’21 – SteelMint’s assessment of US-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20) stood at $471/t CFR Turkey in Dec’21 against $496/t CFR in Nov’21, down by around $25-30/t m-o-m.

Outlook
Imported scrap trade is likely to improve, as mills are required to replenish the inventory for Feb and March shipments owing to improved demand from both domestic and overseas markets. However, amidst ongoing trade tensions, trade dynamics are likely to witness a change. Of Russia’s total scrap and metallics exports in 2021, the share of EU was 2.19 mnt and Turkey’s share was 2.66 mnt.
Total metallics exports – mainly of scrap and hot briquetted iron (HBI) – totalled 0.45 mnt in 2021 (0.37 mnt), up 21% y-o-y.