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Turkish steel production in first 7 months up by 21pct YoY

Lesedauer: min

Turkey's crude steel production rose 21% in the January to July period over the same period a year before, maintaining top position among the fastest growing steel producers in the world.

Data provided by the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers Association have revealed that Turkey produced 19.26 million tonnes of crude steel in the first 7 months representing 3.3 million tonne increase over the same months of 2010. Turkey is currently the world's ninth largest crude steel producer, while China sits at the top of the list. The second country to follow Turkey with the highest increase in steel production during the given period was Taiwan with 19.2%. South Korea ranked third with 18.9%.

Following energy imports, iron and steel are the second most important intermediate goods Turkey imports. Turkey imported scrap steel and iron valued at USD 7 billion in 2010 widening the foreign trade deficit hence the country's current account deficit. The government has been calling on investors to concentrate more on new investments to help make the country self-sufficient in steel manufacturing and minimize the country's foreign trade deficit. Facilitating know how transfer to Turkey is one issue the government is concentrating on.

Mr Veysel Yayan secretary general of DCUD said that steel production was the driving force behind Turkey's economic growth and that it should be promoted further with new investment. The iron and steel sector accounted for 21.3% of the manufacturing industry's growth in the H1. Turkey is attracting the attention of foreign investors with its breathtaking performance.”

Mr Yayan however has some reservations. The DCUD official said that Turkey still is unable to utilize their production facilities at full capacity. We need to reach the desired level but before that the government needs to facilitate higher steel production in Turkey.



Sourced from Todays Zaman

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