Underlining that they, as ÇİB, have accelerated their international organizations in order to reach the export figures in 2022, Steel Exporters' Association (ÇİB) Chairman Adnan Aslan said that the Sectoral Trade Delegation (STH) program they organized with 24 companies in Tunisia, one of the most important markets of the North African region, is very productive. He stated that he passed. Stating that they continue to work to increase their exports despite all the negativities experienced, Aslan said, "Our goal is to create synergy with our contacts and B2B meetings and to open new export doors." said.
Steel Exporters Association (ÇİB) organized a Sectoral Trade Delegation (STH) in Tunisia between 22-24 May 2024, with the aim of increasing its effectiveness in North African countries, strengthening its presence in the market and developing new collaborations. Within the scope of the Sectoral Trade Delegation program, which was held with the participation of 46 people from 24 Turkish companies, nearly 1000 bilateral business meetings were held with more than 100 importer companies from North African countries, with the aim of increasing the trade volume between the countries.
Tunisia Sectoral Trade Delegation organization held under the chairmanship of Adnan Aslan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Steel Exporters Association; İMMİB Secretary General Selahattin Armağan Vurdu, Ministry of Commerce Department Head Ali Rıza Oktay, İMMİB Deputy General Secretary Coşkun Kırlıoğlu, ÇİB Branch Manager Uygar Tatar attended. With the opening speech of Tunisian Ambassador Ahmet Misbah Demircan and the delegation visit of Tunisian Commercial Counselor Müjdat Emre Semiz, opportunities to increase the exports of the Turkish steel industry in the North African market were evaluated.
Nearly a thousand meetings in Tunisia
Adnan Aslan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Steel Exporters' Association (ÇİB), stated that according to the statistics of the first four months of 2024, Turkish steel exports increased by 12 percent in value compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching approximately 5.2 billion dollars. He stated that although exports are thought to have started the new year strongly, a decrease of more than 32 percent was observed compared to the same period of 2022. Underlining that ÇİB has accelerated international organizations in order to reach the export figures in 2022, Aslan said that the Sectoral Trade Delegation (STH) program they organized with 24 companies in Tunisia, one of the most important markets of the North African region, was very productive.
Aslan stated that the bilateral business meetings were attended by North African countries such as Algeria, Libya and Morocco, especially Tunisia's neighboring countries. Noting that each company participating in the delegation held more than 40 meetings, Aslan stated that nearly 1000 meetings were held with more than 100 Tunisian companies.
Production in steel decreased
Noting that production in the steel industry decreased, Adnan Aslan said, “Our production in 2022 was 35 million 134 thousand tons. It decreased by 4 percent in 2023, falling to 33 million 714 thousand tons. By 2022, our exports had reached levels close to 20 million tons. Under normal circumstances, our 2023 target was 16 million tons, 16 billion dollars of export. But we fell behind. We aim to export 17 million tons in 2024.” said.
“Most profiles were exported to Tunisia in the first 4 months”
Sharing the information that Türkiye's steel exports to Tunisia decreased by 42 percent in 2023 on an amount basis, Aslan said that with the introduction of tax as of January 2024, the decrease was around 34 percent in the first 4 months of this year, and that during our Minister of Commerce's visit to Tunisia in June, the tax He stated that negotiations will be held to remove these practices and that they plan to rise again in this market with the trade delegation organized. Also noting that the most profiles were exported to Tunisia in the first 4 months, Aslan said, "The African market is very important and our negotiations will continue to strengthen our presence in this market. As a sector, the advantage we gained after the pandemic and our competitiveness; the opening of China, the Russia-Ukraine war, "As a sector, we have lost the export figures of 21.1 billion dollars in 2022. Although it does not seem possible for us to reach the 21.1 billion dollar export figures we achieved in 2022, we will continue sectoral trade delegations, fairs and customer visits in order to close 2024 above the 2023 figures and strengthen our presence in the markets." said.
Increase target trading volume
Noting that they are targeting 16 billion dollars of export revenue with 17 million tons of export in 2024, Steel Exporters Association (ÇİB) Chairman Adnan Aslan said, "It seems that it will take a little longer for us to reach the export level of nearly 20 million tons in 2022. For 2028, "We set an export target of 32 billion dollars." said. Pointing out that capacity utilization rates in the steel industry are around 60-65 percent, Aslan said that they continue to work non-stop to increase our exports despite all the negativities experienced. Underlining that such activities should be continued to increase trade volume, Adnan Aslan said, “Our goal is; "To be able to create synergy with our contacts and B2B meetings, to enable our colleagues to come together and evaluate the conjuncture our world is going through, to gain different perspectives and to open new export doors." made his assessment.
“We witnessed that it was very difficult to meet our offer price with tax rates.”
Speaking to SteelRadar about the purpose and content of the delegation, Işık Çelik Export Regional Sales Manager Yasin Acar said; “The aim is to increase the trade volume between Türkiye and Tunisia, and for this purpose, bilateral meetings were held between Turkish businessmen and Tunisian businessmen under the name of this conference. Bilateral meetings were held with participating Tunisian companies to increase trade between the two countries. During these bilateral meetings, companies were met and Turkish companies promoted and marketed their own products. Since 22.5% customs tax is applied to the products we produce (hot rolled angle iron, flat, square and round steels), we have witnessed firsthand from our customers that it is very difficult to meet our offer price with these tax rates. They mainly buy these products from Italy, because when they buy from Italy, there is a 0% tax, so their prices are more affordable compared to ours.
Stating that the most important agenda item of the delegation is the taxes imposed by Tunisia on Turkish products, Ram Demir Çelik Foreign Trade Director Aslı Şahin said, "There are taxes imposed by Tunisia on Turkish products, which makes exports difficult. These export difficulties were mentioned in the delegation, but no action was taken or discussed regarding this yet. "There is no tax on some products, maybe it will enable some more sales in the market and more exports, but other than that, no forward-looking plans have been made yet," he said.
Among the companies participating in the Tunisian Sectoral Trade Delegation are Ağır Haddecilik A.Ş., Akçelik Demir Çelik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., Akkatoğlu DÇ. Industrial Imp. expulsion and Tic. LTD. ŞTİ., BMS Birleşik Metal Sanayi A.Ş., Borçelik, Boskay, Çakıroğlu, Ekinciler Demir ve Çelik San. A.Ş., Ersoylar, Fecon Dış Ticaret, İzmir Demir Çelik San. A.Ş., Kayseri Metal Center San. and Tic. A.Ş., İçdaş, Fer Hasır Metal ve Mak., Gazi Metal Products, Işık Çelik Sanayi, Kibar Dış Ticaret, Kocaer, Nickel Stainless Steel Industry, Ram Iron and Steel Industry, Serhat Haddecilik, Tatmetal Çelik Sanayi, Yametaş Flat Metal Products Industry and Ticaret A.Ş., Yolbulan Metal Industry took part.
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