While the world was shrinking in steel production, Turkey grew.

According to KPMG Turkey's "Iron and Steel Industry Report", while the global steel industry shrank by 1 percent due to the export quotas applied by the USA and EU and the epidemic, the Turkish steel industry closed 2020 strongly with a growth of 6 percent.

According to the KPMG Turkey statement, the Iron and Steel Report of the Sectoral Overview series prepared by KPMG Turkey has been published. According to the report, in the epidemic year 2020, when protectionism came to the fore all over the world, the Turkish steel producer achieved success with its experience and rapid maneuverability in times of crisis.
Contrary to the rest of the world, the sector, which closed 2020 with growth, shows a strong performance in 2021 as well. The sector grew by 20 percent in the first 6 months of 2021 and increased its export value by 50 percent.

KPMG Turkey Metal and Mining Industry Leader Burak Yıldırım, whose views are included in the statement, stated that Turkey's steel industry has adapted very quickly to the epidemic with its flexible structure and that it has been able to find new markets and find solutions to the export quotas reduced by the USA and the EU.
While it contracted by around 1 percent, Turkish crude steel production reached 35.8 million tons with an increase of 6 percent.Excluding the largest steel producer China, it is seen that the industry has contracted by about 8 percent in 2020 throughout the world.

In this period, the USA's production decreased by 17 percent compared to the previous year, while Germany contracted by more than 10 percent. In the EU, the decrease was 12%. Other major steel producers, India and Japan, also fell by around 10 percent and 16 percent, respectively, last year.
In this challenging year, which passed under the shadow of the pandemic and protectionism, the Turkish steel industry was able to continue to grow, both with the incentives applied and the rapid action capability of the Turkish steel producer.

Stating that protectionism has come one step further all over the world with the epidemic, Yıldırım said:

"For the last 3 years, the Turkish steel industry has been struggling with customs barriers, rising customs tariffs and quotas led by our biggest stakeholders, the USA and the EU.
The USA has subjected all countries to an additional 25 percent tax on steel imports in March 2018, August 2018 In Turkey, this additional customs duty was doubled in Turkey. Although the additional tax in Turkey was removed and reduced to 25% again in May 2019, as a result of these practices, our steel exports to the USA in 2019 decreased to almost one-fifth of the previous year. Although our exports to Turkey have increased slightly compared to the previous year, only half of the 2018 levels have been achieved.
The EU also made up 50 percent of our foreign market in the steel industry in recent years. After all these quota practices and customs duties, the share of the industry's exports to the EU and the USA in the total is a percentage of It's down to 35."

"Turkey finished 2020 as the first in Europe in steel production"
Yıldırım said, "Turkey tried to compensate for the shrinkage in the EU and US markets in exports by reaching new markets or increasing our presence in markets where we are weak.
The Far East, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America have recently become alternative markets for Turkish steel exporters. In 2020, while the world shrinks in steel production, Among the producing countries, only 5 countries (China, Vietnam, Russia, Iran) including Turkey were able to grow.
The other big ones, the USA, Japan, Germany, Italy and India, contracted by around 10-20 percent. made its assessment.

Stating that Turkey completed 2020 as the first in Europe in steel production, Yıldırım used the following statements:

"One of the factors in Turkey's growth in this period was China, which quickly brought the pandemic under control and returned to its old performance. With China's focus on domestic consumption and decreasing its exports compared to previous years, Turkey realized a significant amount of exports to the Far East and Southeast Asian markets, which left China.
2021 The Turkish steel industry, which started the year with a strong momentum and high expectations, achieved a growth of around 20 percent in production and exports in the first 6 months of the year.

With the astronomical increases in steel prices in this period, exports increased by 50 percent in value compared to the previous year. Positive winds are blowing both globally and domestically due to the global monetary expansion, stimulus packages and the normalization that started with the spread of the covid-19 vaccine. 
In this period, the global steel industry grew by around 15 percent due to the base effect. The activity in the global manufacturing industry also causes positive expectations for the upcoming period. Considering the first 6-month performance, it is estimated that Turkish steel production this year will easily reach the level of 2017-2018 and even exceed the level of 40 million tons.