Turkey ranks 1st in Europe and 7th in the world with an annual steel production of 40 million tons. Despite the protectionist policies and quotas of the countries, Turkey ranks 6th in the world with its steel exports of 22 million tons.
Speaking at the Ordinary General Assembly of the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TÇÜD), Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank said that every breakthrough and every development in the iron and steel industry directly affects the whole of the country's industry. Stating that the iron and steel industry is an example of the achievements of the Turkish industry in national and international platforms, Minister Varank said, "While the global steel industry is shrinking day by day due to the epidemic, wars, protectionist policies and export quotas applied, the Turkish steel industry has almost made history with your efforts."
THE CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATE
Drawing attention to the point reached at the global level, Varank said that Turkey is the 1st in Europe and 7th in the world with 40 million tons of steel production today. Noting that the capacity utilization rate has reached the level of 76%, Varank noted that Turkey ranks 6th in the world with its steel export of 22 million tons worth 25 billion dollars, which means approximately 12 percent of the total exports.
55 THOUSAND EMPLOYMENTS
Congratulating all Turkish iron and steel industrialists and 55 thousand laborers working in this sector for their success, Minister Varank said, “However, I want to make a note; If we say that we will make Turkey a global base in investment, production and export, of course, we have to increase these figures even higher. This is of course not easy. We are aware that breaks in the supply chain, social, political and economic crises seriously affect the whole world and all sectors. We all know the fragile and unusual raw material pricing," he said.
QUALIFIED TRANSFORMATION
Underlining that it is not enough to be the largest steel producer in Europe and that they need to transform the products into more qualified quality, Varank said, “For example, the subject of silicon steel. Turkey is about to become one of the world's largest suppliers of transformers and generators. Wherever you go to Africa today, Turkish transformers and generators are there. One of the most important raw materials used in this is silicon steel. We expect a step forward from our flat product manufacturers in Turkey, especially in terms of oriented siliceous sheet investment.”
CALL INDUSTRY FOR NATURAL GAS PIPES
Stating that the pipes that will bring the natural gas in the Black Sea region are not produced in Turkey, but that the industry has the ability to do this, Varank said, “We actually need to focus on all of these areas. We need qualified steel investments. We know how successful the sector is, we know what its capabilities are in terms of financing. We express that we expect these investments from this sector persistently”.
SCRAP SOLUTION DIRECT REDUCED IRON FACILITIES
Inviting the industry to directly invest in reduced iron facilities on steel scrap, Minister Mustafa Varank said: “The price of scrap can go up to $700-800 in 2-3 months and go down to $470. As a country that imports one-fifth of the world's steel scrap with 25 million tons per year, we are the most affected by this situation.
This actually gives us a clear message. We must increase the competitive power of the sector by utilizing the opportunities, modernize our facilities, in short, catch up with the era. If we need heavy scrap, if there is fragility in this area, it is time to roll up our sleeves for DRI, that is, Direct Reduced Iron facilities.”
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