Iron and Steel, Aluminum, Copper and Metal Products Exports Reach $6 Billion

Iron and steel, aluminum, copper and metal products exports reached USD 6.386 billion in the first quarter of 2021 Turkey's ferrous and non-ferrous metals sector (including steel), one of the locomotive sectors in exports, increased its exports by 20 percent in the January-March period of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020, rising from USD 5.176 billion to USD 6.386 billion. Among the 12 exporter associations within the Aegean Exporters Unions, the Aegean Iron and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters Association, which is the export leader, achieved a performance in the first quarter of 2021 of USD 435 million, up 14 percent from USD 379 million. The sector's March export performance is even stronger. The sector improved its March exports by 53 percent, raising them from USD 1.652 billion to USD 2.526 billion. In March, the Aegean Iron and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters Association maintained its leading position within AEU with exports of USD 164.7 million, while increasing its exports by 38 percent compared to March 2020.

Average export price rose 20 percent in dollar terms

When Turkey's sector exports are examined by volume, exports which stood at 5.628 million tons in the first quarter of 2020 rose to 5.805 million tons in the January-March period of 2021, a 3 percent increase. Average export price rose from USD 920 per ton to USD 1,100 per ton. The ferrous and non-ferrous metals sector's exports recorded a 20 percent increase on a unit price basis. Yalçın Ertan, Chairman of the Aegean Iron and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters Association, noted that the increase in raw material prices in the post-pandemic period has driven up export prices, and stated that rising container prices and freight rates are beginning to reflect in costs.

Italy, Germany and Spain led exports in March

Emphasizing that the global market balance has been disrupted by the pandemic and has not yet been restored, Ertan said: "Despite changes in global balances and disruptions in supply chains, our iron and steel sector passed the first quarter of 2021 very successfully. We are moving forward with confidence towards our 2021 export target of USD 1.4 billion. We exported USD 435 million in the first quarter. In Turkey's March exports, Italy ranks first with USD 190.5 million, while we exported USD 175.5 million to Germany, USD 150.5 million to Spain. We exported USD 121.8 million worth of ferrous and non-ferrous metals products to Romania and USD 105 million to the United States. Our sales to Iraq, Israel, Peru, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and China markets are progressing very well. More than 170 countries receive products from our ferrous and non-ferrous metals exporting companies in the Aegean region. This figure exceeds 220 across Turkey." In the January-March period of 2021, in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals exports totaling USD 6.386 billion, iron and steel products accounted for the lion's share with USD 4.170 billion, while aluminum exports reached USD 947.5 million. Turkey earned USD 487 million in foreign currency from copper exports, while exports of other metals were recorded at USD 782.6 million.

We must focus on earthquake-resistant buildings

Yalçın Ertan stated that a large portion of Turkey is located in the earthquake zone and that Izmir is particularly one of the regions presenting the greatest danger. "In the 6.9-magnitude earthquake experienced on 30 October, we unfortunately lost many of our citizens, and we remember them with respect. We were forced to once again confront the sad truth of the saying 'earthquakes don't kill buildings, buildings kill people.' Earthquakes are a natural disaster that we must address together and evaluate with scientific data. Now, instead of finding solutions after earthquakes occur, we are ready to undertake the work incumbent upon us to ensure our structures are built to be earthquake-resistant." Ertan, emphasizing that steel frame construction models, which are secure and flexible rather than fragile, durable and lightweight, need to be more widely adopted as an extremely safe model against earthquakes, concluded his remarks as follows: "Unfortunately, steel frame systems have very low awareness in Turkey. While steel system usage in Europe and America is around 40 percent, this figure in Turkey hovers at around 1 percent. With the property of having no corrosion and decay risk, it offers significant advantages in terms of long service life compared to the commonly used reinforced concrete model. In addition to structural safety, we plan to conduct activities in the coming period to introduce steel frame systems to more stakeholders due to the possibility of creating spacious, bright spaces from a design perspective and the ability to apply aesthetic architecture."

Green transition's impact is growing

Yalçın Ertan also addressed the importance of green production in his speech: "As you know, under the European Green Deal, there are targets to reduce carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2030 and to zero by 2050. Our iron and steel sector, which ranks among the sectors with the highest carbon emissions, must become aware without delay and take initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint through green production in order not to lose competitive advantage in this direction. Our association will establish a working group on reducing the sector's carbon footprint in order to reach our 2021 export target of USD 1.4 billion, and will take initiatives on green energy transition, hydrogen use instead of coal, and circular economy issues. We will also continue our joint work with Germany on Industry 4.0, which we have been conducting for three years."