The Turkish Steel Producers Association (TÇÜD) announced steel production, consumption and foreign trade data for March 2025. Accordingly, Türkiye's crude steel production decreased by 2.8% y/y to 3.1 million tons in March 2025. In the first quarter of the year, production decreased by 3.4% to 9.3 million tons.
In March 2025, consumption of finished products decreased by 23.2% to 2.6 million tons compared to the same month of 2024.
In the first quarter of the year, final product consumption decreased by 7.3% to 9.1 million tons.
18.5% increase in exports in the first quarter
In March 2025, compared to the same month of 2024, exports of steel products increased by 31.3% to 1.5 million tons in quantity and by 18.6% to USD 1 billion in value.
In the first quarter of the year, exports of steel products increased by 18.5% in quantity to 3.8 million tons and by 8.4% in value to USD 2.6 billion compared to the same period of 2024.
Imports increased by 4.6%
In March 2025, imports of steel products decreased by 23.6% to 1.2 million tons in quantity and by 24.5% to USD 885.5 million in value compared to the same month of 2024.
In the first quarter of the year, imports of steel products increased by 4.6% yoy to 4.2 million tons in quantity and decreased by 4.2% y/y to USD 3 billion in value compared to the same period of 2024.
Foreign Trade Balance
In the first quarter of 2025, the ratio of exports to imports increased to 84.6% from 74.7% in the first quarter of 2024.
According to data released by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel) for March 2025, world crude steel production increased by 2.9% y/y to 166.1 million tons in the first quarter of 2025, and decreased by 0.4% y/y to 468.6 million tons in the January-March period.
In the first quarter of 2025, China's crude steel production amounted to 259.3 million tons, an increase of 0.6% compared to the same period last year. India's crude steel production, which ranked second, increased by 6.8% to 40.1 million tons, while Japan's production decreased by 4.9% to 20.4 million tons.
“Far East's share in total steel imports is 51.7%”
“Although crude steel production decreased by 3.4% in the first quarter of the year, Türkiye continued to rank 7th with a production of 9.3 million tons, thanks to the 12.6% decrease in Germany's production,” stated Veysel Yayan, Secretary General of TÇÜD. In the same period, total consumption of finished products decreased to 9.1 million tons, reflecting the decline in industrial production. In the first quarter of 2025, our exports to the US almost came to a halt with 38 thousand tons. In order to offset the negative effects of this situation, our industry has endeavored to open up to new markets and has turned its route to North Africa and the Middle East.
Despite the protection measure for hot rolled steel, total imports of steel products increased by 4.6% to 4.2 million tons in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year due to the import-increasing provisions of the DIR practice. In this period, Russia became our largest supplier, with imports increasing by 59% to 923.4 thousand tons. However, it is noteworthy that while imports from Far Eastern countries reached 2.2 million tons and USD 1.6 billion, exports to the same region remained at only 30 thousand tons and USD 25 million. This table reveals that imports are 73 times higher than exports. Moreover, the share of the Far East in total steel imports increased to 51.7%."
“It is important to take measures to increase domestic scrap production”
Yayan stated, "On the other hand, as can be seen from approaches such as the inclusion of scrap restrictions in the EU Steel and Metal Action Plan, the prevention of scrap trade has become a global trend. It is expected that the demand for scrap will increase by 20% by 2030, along with the decarbonization efforts. Considering that Türkiye is the largest importer of scrap with a 20% share and possible restrictions, it is important to meet our scrap needs from alternative markets and inputs and to take measures to increase domestic scrap production. If Türkiye does not adopt policies similar to the measures implemented by the EU and the US, our industry will have difficulty in coping with the structural threats it faces. On the other hand, considering that the import trend will continue to increase in 2025 and tight economic policies will delay the growth in consumption, the optimistic expectations that came to the fore at the beginning of the year will evolve into a more cautious perspective in the light of recent developments, and accordingly, the projections for the second half of 2025 should be shaped in a more cautious framework."
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