Turkey Steel Exports Rise 1.9% in January-September
Turkey exported 11.6 million tonnes of steel products in January-September 2026, up 1.9% year over year, while export value increased 2.6% to $7.9 billion. September shipments, however, declined 6.4% year over year.
- January-September steel exports rose 1.9% y/y to 11.6 million tonnes.
- Export value increased 2.6% to $7.9 billion.
- September exports fell 6.4% y/y to 1.3 million tonnes.
- Steel exports to the EU fell 23% to 3.7 million tonnes.
- January-September crude steel production rose 6.1% to 29.8 million tonnes.
Turkey's steel exports increased over the first nine months of 2026 even as September shipments weakened and exports to the European Union recorded a sharp year-over-year decline, according to data from the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TÇÜD) reported by SteelRadar.
September Export Volume Falls 6.4%
Turkey exported 1.3 million tonnes of steel products in September, down 6.4% from the same month of 2025.
Export revenue nevertheless increased 0.8% year over year to $902.6 million.
The combination of lower tonnage and higher revenue implies a higher average unit value for exported products. Available data, however, do not establish how much of that change resulted from product pricing and how much reflected changes in the export product mix.
For January-September, total steel exports increased 1.9% year over year to 11.6 million tonnes, while export value rose 2.6% to $7.9 billion.
EU Steel Exports Fall 23%
Turkey's steel exports to European Union countries fell 23% to 3.7 million tonnes, representing a reduction of approximately 1.1 million tonnes, according to TÇÜD Secretary General Veysel Yayan.
Yayan said the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and quota measures negatively affected Turkey's export performance in the market.
Turkish producers increased shipments to alternative destinations including the United States, United Kingdom and Latin America, although Yayan said those gains would be difficult to use to offset the loss in EU shipments in the short term.
Steel Imports Decline
Turkey's steel imports fell 22.3% year over year in September to 1.2 million tonnes. Their value declined 12.8% to $908.4 million.
During January-September, steel imports decreased 5.7% to 13.3 million tonnes, while import value fell 5.3% to $9.4 billion.
The export-to-import coverage ratio improved to 84.4%, compared with 77.9% in the corresponding period of 2025.
Separately, imports of Turkish steel products into Ukraine reached 637,000 tonnes during January-September, down 2% year over year and accounting for 54% of Ukraine's total steel imports during the period, according to Ukraine's State Customs Service as cited by GMK Center.
Production Rises as September Consumption Falls
Turkey's crude steel production increased 6.1% year over year during January-September to 29.8 million tonnes.
September crude steel output reached 3.2 million tonnes, up 0.8% year over year.
Finished steel consumption moved in the opposite direction during September, falling 6.9% year over year to 2.9 million tonnes.
For the first nine months as a whole, however, finished steel consumption increased 2.2% to 29.5 million tonnes.
The figures show that Turkey entered the final quarter of 2026 with higher year-to-date steel production and exports, but with weaker September export volumes and a significant contraction in shipments to the EU.
For comparison, Turkish steelmakers produced 38.1 million tonnes of crude steel in 2025, up 3.3% from 2024, while pig iron production declined 4.6% to 9.7 million tonnes.
