Competitive offers boost Turkey's HRC imports from Russia, Asia

Turkish imports of hot-rolled coil in the first half of the year reached 2.77 million mt, 38% higher year on year, as competitive import offers spurred notable buying interest in Turkey, especially from Russia and some Asian suppliers. Imports from the EU region however, declined notably in that period.

Russia became Turkey's largest HRC supplier at 1.1 million mt in H1, double year on year, while imports from Ukraine totaled 666,000 mt, also sharply higher than the 335,000 mt imported in the same period the previous year.

Turkey's imports of HRC from some Asian countries, particularly Japan and India, showed a notable year-on-year surge in that period, due to competitive offers, S&P Global Platts observed from the latest Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data Aug. 1.

Turkish imports of HRC from Japan totaled 206,000 mt in H1, 100,000 mt higher on year, while imports from India reached 198,000 mt, up from zero in the same period the previous year. South Korea exported 107,000 mt of HRC to Turkey in that period, down from 154,000 mt exported in H1 2020, the data showed.

Turkey's HRC imports from European countries showed notable declines in H1. France shipped 135,000 mt to Turkey in the six-month period, down 40% on year, while Romania's HRC exports to Turkey totaled 82,000 mt of HRC to Turkey in the six-month period, down 41% on year.

Turkey's HRC imports from Italy totaled 62,000 mt in H1, down 16% on year, while imports from Belgium declined to 30,000 mt, 36% lower on year.

One of the sharpest declines in HRC imports was seen in imports from the Netherlands. The country shipped 9,500 mt of HRC to Turkey in January-June, sharply lower than 125,200 mt exported in H1 2020.