The supply crisis in pig iron will be solved with domestic production

The supply crisis caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine, the two countries where the Turkish metal casting industry imports 70 percent of pig iron, will be resolved with the intervention of domestic manufacturers. The news in the DÜNYA newspaper that "Russia's bombardment hit Turkey's pig iron imports" mobilized the relevant people, especially the Ministry of Industry and Technology. It was stated that the Ministry met with İsdemir and Kardemir, the two major organizations of the sector, and demanded that domestic pig production be increased. The fact that the factories in Ukraine, where pig iron is imported, were hit by the Russians, undermined the procurement process of the Turkish metal casting industry and led the industry to search.

Turkish Casting Manufacturers Association (TÜDÖKSAD) President Umur Denizci, in his statement to DÜNYA, expressed the supply problem of the industry as follows: "A possible interruption in the supply of pig iron may cause the metal casting facilities to stop and cause a bigger crisis." Denizci stated that they contacted the relevant ministry and wanted to increase domestic pig iron production. According to the information obtained from TÜKDÖKSAD sources, the Ministry of Industry and Technology met with Kardemir and İsdemir to increase the domestic ratio in pig iron supply, and the need to increase production was emphasized. According to industry officials, pig iron production can start in 2-4 weeks if furnaces that are not currently used in Kardemir and İsdemir are put into operation. İsdemir and Kardemin's monthly production of 60-100 thousand tons of pig iron eliminates the dependence of the industry on imports.

Pig iron prices are increasing rapidly
The supply crisis after the start of the war caused an increase in prices. Pig iron prices increased by 30 percent in a short period of two weeks. The price of steel pigs rose to $900 per ton, and the price of ductile iron rose from about $900 to $1,150 per ton. The industry is completely foreign-dependent for pig iron, which is the main input, and makes 70 percent of its annual import of 1 million tons from Ukraine and Russia. The Turkish metal casting industry turned to the search for alternative suppliers after the war broke out between the two countries, which are the world's largest iron, steel and aluminum producers, and Azovstal, Europe's largest iron and steel factory in Ukraine, was severely damaged during the Russian bombardment. Although there are alternatives such as Brazil, South Africa and India on the supply side, the industry wants to increase domestic production instead of turning to alternative countries due to the high logistics costs and the difficulty of new supply agreement processes.

According to the information given by TÜDÖKSAD President Umur Denizci, until about 20 years ago, Turkey's pig iron needs were met to a significant extent by Erdemir, İsdemir and Kardemir.