Coronavirus pandemic hit the Turkish Steel Industry hard. Affecting domestic and export finished steel demand, as well as tightened ferrous scrap supply, as scrap collection rates fell with the lockdown restrictions. Besides that, growing protectionism in key export markets, such as the EU, saw FOB rebar prices fall.
The EU’s import safeguard quota, which was implemented in February 2019, limited Turkish rebar sales to the economic bloc, leading Turkish mills to diversify export sales, including higher volumes to the Southeast Asian market, where pricing is far more competitive.
