Turkish steel exports for January–August rose by 3.1% in volume terms (to 10.3 million tonnes) and by 2.9% in value terms (to $7 billion). This was reported by SteelOrbis, citing data from the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD).
According to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, imports of Turkish metal products into Ukraine totalled 577,000 tonnes in January–August, accounting for 47% of total steel imports during this period.
Supplies of long products rose by 3.8% (to 5.4 million tonnes), and those of semi-finished products by 68.3% (to 738,300 tonnes), whilst exports of flat products fell by 4.4% (to 4.2 million tonnes). In particular, exports showed positive growth in August: +8.1% in volume (to 1.3 million tonnes) and +12.7% in revenue (to $930.28 million).
Steel imports into Turkey fell by 3.7% over the first eight months of the year, to 12.2 million tonnes, whilst their value decreased by 4.5%, to $8.5 billion. In August, imports fell by 8.4% (to 1.4 million tonnes). As a result of this trend, the ratio of exports to imports rose to 83%, compared with 77% a year earlier.
According to TCUD, the share of imports in total consumption of steel products reached 44.6%, and 58.8% in the flat steel segment. In this regard, the association emphasises the critical need to introduce quantitative import restrictions in 2026, primarily on imports from the Far East and Russia. TCUD experts also call for measures to stimulate domestic consumption and accelerate the industry’s transition to the production of higher value-added products.
In January–August 2026, steel production in Turkey increased by 6.8% compared with the same period last year, reaching 26.6 million tonnes. At the same time, in August, the figure saw a slight decline of 0.4% – to 3.4 million tonnes. Over the first eight months of the year, production of steel billets rose by 0.7% (to 15.9 million tonnes), whilst slab production increased by 17.3% (to 10.67 million tonnes). Output of finished steel products during this period rose by 3.7% – to 29.3 million tonnes, whilst domestic consumption increased by 3.3% – to 26.6 million tonnes.
It should be noted that, according to the figures for 2025, Turkish steelmakers increased steel production by 3.3% compared with 2024 – to 38.1 million tonnes. Pig iron production in the country fell by 4.6% year-on-year last year – to 9.7 million tonnes.