South Korea and China became Turkey's cold rolled flat suppliers

However, there was a 25% decrease compared to October's import level of 90,811 tonnes.

The average price of cold rolled flat steel imports in November was $783/ton.

Asian countries have become Turkey's main suppliers of cold rolled flat steel, achieving a 54% share compared to a cumulative share of only 4% in the previous year.

South Korea was the leading source of cold rolled flat products, supplying 28,615 tonnes at an average price of $727/ton, accounting for 42.2% of total monthly imports. China, on the other hand, had a 17% share in imports to Turkey in November, supplying 11,434 tons at an average price of $743/ton.

This significant increase in Asian supply was due to the decrease in Russian origin purchases. This figure of Russia, which supplied 32,350 tons with a 76% share in November 2022, decreased to 8,721 tons with a 73% decrease in November 2023. However, Russia is still the third largest supplier with a share of 12.9%.

Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Austria increased their supplies, contributing to the overall growth in Turkey's cold rolled flat steel imports. On the other hand, Romania, Germany and Kazakhstan reduced their assets in Turkey and Turkey's share in November was zero.

In particular, in addition to the EU and the UK, South Korea also has free trade agreements with Turkey and these countries can supply products to the Turkish market without paying import taxes. Additionally, within the scope of the inward processing regime in Turkey, the final product produced from the imported material is exempt from import tax, provided that it is subsequently exported.

In general, the annual increase observed in Turkey's cold rolled flat steel imports is noteworthy. In September 2023, the country exceeded the import volume of 631,684 tonnes in 2022 by 12,924 tonnes. All monthly trends in 2023, except July, showed year-on-year increases in import tonnages.