The export of ferrous and non-ferrous metals reached $3.27 billion

According to the statement made by the Istanbul Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters' Association (IDDMIB), the industrial sector continues to be the locomotive of the Turkish economy with production, export, and employment.

Turkey's exports reached an all-time monthly export record of 23.6 billion dollars in March, with a 4.4% increase compared to the same month last year.

The sector's export in March decreased by 15.1% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 1.22 billion dollars, and its export in the January-March period decreased by 13.9% compared to the same months of the previous year, reaching 3.27 billion dollars.

During the first three months of the year, the sector took a 5.3% share of general exports and became the 6th sector with the highest exports among the industrial sectors.

It was reported that the earthquake disaster has affected the sector's export by 10%

According to the statement made by Çetin Tecdelioğlu, Vice President of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of İDDMİB, the following stated the following regarding the unit export prices of the sector;

"In the January-March 2023 period, the unit export price of the the ferrous and non-ferrous metals sector was $4.62 per kilogram, a decrease of 0.26% compared to the same period last year. The sector's exports reached 723.2 thousand tons during the same period. In March, exports to the European Union countries, the region where the sector exports the most, amounted to 674.5 million dollars.

Germany ranked first among the countries with the highest export, with 168.4 million dollars, followed by Italy with 96.1 million dollars, and the United States with 58.8 million dollars of exports."

Tecdelioğlu stated that the earthquake disaster centered in Kahramanmaraş had a negative impact on the sector's exports by 10%, saying, "Our kitchen and metal sectors are heavily present in the earthquake zone. Factories are still operating at 30-40% capacity. The fact that the kitchen sector in Kahramanmaraş was seriously affected, and the metal sector in other cities was affected, has a negative impact on the sector's exports at around 10%."

Tecdelioğlu noted that the Far East, especially China, has started to move with very competitive prices all over the world, as container prices have decreased, "China's aggressive and competitive prices have been a significant challenge for us during this period. To be competitive, we will have more B2B meetings, more fair participations, and more visits under the Far East Countries Strategy."

Tecdelioğlu also stated that an increase in exports to the US was observed, and this increase excited the sectors. He added that export increase efforts in the US will continue with fairs and B2Bs.