Turkey restricts steel and aluminum exports to Israel

Turkey's Trade Ministry has restricted 54 product groups to Israel, including steel and aluminum, with a decree published on April 9.

According to the decree seen by S&P Global Commodity lnsights the restricted products include nearly all long and flat steel products, steel pipes and tubes as well as aluminum profiles and wires.

The ministry said restrictions would remain in effect until Israel declared a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and allowed an uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to the region. No further details regarding the restrictions, which came into force on April 9, have been disclosed.

As Israel is one of Turkey's top long steel export destinations, the restrictions could harm Turkish mills' export volumes and pricing.

Steel rebar shipments to Israel were at 735,800 mt in 2023, down 30% on year, according to Turkish Statistical lnstitute data.

Rebar exports to Israel were up 53% on month in February to 31,307 mt, reclaiming the top spot from Yemen which were down 58% on the month in February to 31,183 mt, according to the data.

Israel is also one of Turkey's major steel pipe export destinations.

One agent source said the move was "bad for the industry," as cement factories were almost ready, but steel mills were not and rebar export destinations [available to the Turkish mills] were limited.

He noted that a cement factory in South Cyprus would "flourish," as he was certain Israel could source whatever rebar they needed from somewhere else.

"Turkish mills will be out of equation for a very long time even after the war, until this government is gone," the agent source commented.

However, a trading source said he was unsure of the impact of the news yet, and he was "still trying to get the feel for it."

He pointed out that rebar exports still only accounted for about 15% of total rebar sales for Turkey, who had become increasingly reliant on domestic sales, adding that the iron ore, petroleum, coal, sponge iron and subcontinent scrap prices were all increasing, so he was unsure if the news would impact those markets or not.

Slow demand amid one week-long Ramadan holiday in Turkey and fluctuations in input costs have been restricting Turkish mills' steel pricing.

Platts -- part of S&P Global -- assessed Turkish exported rebar at $590/mt FOB April 8, stable on the day with most of the Turkish market observing the Ramadan holiday this week.