Steel News

Turkey is planning an expansion to enhance its steel production capacity, aiming to lead Europe in the coming years.Turkey holds a prominent position in the global steel production and export market. The country's steel industry has gained recognition for manufacturing high-quality steel products and making continuous efforts to expand its capacity while incorporating advanced technologies into production. With its strategic geographical location, including an extensive Mediterranean coastline, Turkey currently produces and supplies steel primarily to the European market.The steel industry in Turkey comprises privately owned companies that continually strive for technological advancements and competitiveness in the market. The iron and steel sector is the third-largest contributor to the Turkish economy, reflecting significant development in recent years. Presently, Turkey ranks among the top 10 largest steel production countries globally. According to the World Steel Association (WSA), Turkey was the 8th-largest producer of crude steel in the world in 2022, with 35.134 million metric tons of crude steel. However, in 2023, due to the impact of an earthquake, one-third of Turkey's steel production plants had to temporarily halt steel production activities. It is known that in the last 5 years, Turkey has averaged exporting around 20 million tons of steel annually worldwide. In 2021, according to data from the World Steel Association (WSA), Turkey’s steel industry exported 22.1 million tons of steel, ranking as the 7th largest steel exporter globally. In 2022, according to the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association (CIB), Turkey's steel exports decreased to 19.6 million tons. While Turkey's steel exports increased in the first six months of 2022, they sharply declined in the second half of the year. According to the CIB, the total volume of Turkey's steel exports decreased by about 50% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The main reasons for this decline are primarily attributed to the impact of the Ukraine conflict, inflation, high energy prices, and a global decrease in steel consumption. Particularly, the demand for steel imports from Europe has significantly reduced, while the EU has accounted for approximately 30% of Turkey's steel industry total steel export volume in the past 5 years.Therefore, recently, Turkey has set the goal of becoming the leading country in steel production within the EU in the near future. Alongside efforts to achieve the set objectives, the Director-General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER) emphasizes the challenges that the Turkish steel industry must confront, especially in the face of an energy crisis, high production costs, and inflation, which have added difficulties to steel manufacturing. Furthermore, the transition to carbon reduction processes is underway, and accessing non-fossil fuel energy at affordable prices is crucial for the Turkish steel industry to maintain global competitiveness. The President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) stated that the application of protective measures for steel products could allow the full utilization of domestic capacity, enhance export opportunities and contribute to reducing the steel industry's deficit. Additionally, it is seen as an opportunity to generate added value and provide additional employment within the country. Moreover, there is hope that Turkey's steel industry will regain its position as the largest steel producer in the Middle East, with strategic steps planned for 2024 and even stronger growth expected in 2025. Alongside these aspirations, Turkey's long-term goal is to catch up with South Korea and become the world's 6th-largest steel-producing country.

In 2023, Italy's steel production output recorded 21.06 million tons of steel, down 2.5% compared to 2022. The predicted cause is the fluctuating situation in the European steel industry such as high energy costs, low steel export demand and the intense conflict between Russia and Ukraine.1. Situation of Italian steel production in 2023In 2023, domestic steel production output decreased by 2.5% to 21.06 million tons. This decline occurred in the context of falling global steel demand and unpredictable increases in fuel and raw material costs.According to SteelOrbis data, long steel output reached 11.68 million tons, down 2.9% compared to 2022 and flat steel reached 9.54 million tons, down 0.1% y/y. In December 2023, domestic mills produced 1.33 million tons, increasing output by 6.5% y/y but decreasing by 29.5% compared to November 2023. Long steel production output reached 694 thousand tons, up 5% over the same period but down 36.9% over November. For flat steel, domestic producers reached 615 thousand tons, down 3.9% over the same period and 27.5% compared to the previous month.Returning to 2022, Italy's total steel production reached 21.06 million tons, down 11.5% over the same period in 2021. Regarding long steel, in 2022, Italy reached 12.03 million tons, down 12% y/y. Meanwhile, flat steel products also decreased by 13.8% over the same period, reaching 9.55 million tons.In 2022, not only Italy's steel output decreased, but the steel industry of EU countries also experienced a significant 10.5% decline over the same period, reaching 136.7 million tons. That was the result of rising energy prices, reduced export demand and the fluctuations of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict.2. Italy increases steel imports from Vietnam to solve domestic supply shortagesAccording to data from the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), Italy ranked 1st among the countries that imported the largest Vietnamese steel in the first 10 months of 2023. Steel exports to the EU market accounted for 24.1% of the turnover proportion, reaching 2.2 million tons, a sharp increase of 86.2% over the same period in 2022. Of which, exports to the Italian market reached 1,355 million tons, an increase of 127.7%.Importing Vietnamese steel at good prices and high quality has helped Italy partly solve the difficulty of supply shortage due to a sharp decrease in domestic steel output. In the context of an unstable war situation and rising raw material prices, predicting Italy's steel demand is still a challenging question. Importers continue to seek supplies from major steel exporting countries such as China, India and Vietnam. However, they are still subject to many constraints on the government's trade defense measures to prevent dumping, which negatively affects domestic manufacturers.3. MRS Steel - reputable and quality Vietnamese steel import support unitMRS Steel is a leading unit in the field of providing Vietnamese steel import solutions, cooperating with many large and small businesses in more than 30 countries worldwide. With more than 10 years of experience as a bridge between importers and the largest steel brands in Vietnam such as Hoa Phat, Hoa Sen, Nam Kim, Tay Nam,... MRS Steel can meet all customer requirements in terms of product specifications, reasonable costs. In addition, MRS Steel's team of experts is always ready to advise customers about the market and Vietnamese steel products thoughtfully, in detail and 24/7 via Hotline: +84 28 36 22 33 58 or Email: vanloc@mrssteel.com.vn