Turkish producers increased pig iron imports by 7pc but decreased hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports by 17.3pc in January-August 2020.
Pig iron imports to Turkey reached 867,000mt in the first eight months of this year from 810,000mt in the same period last year, according to Turkish statistical source SteelData. CIS countries supplied 80.1pc of the material.
Russia decreased its pig iron shipments to Turkey by 16.7pc to 482,000mt during the period under review amid higher demand in the domestic market, while Ukraine increased its export of the material by 65.1pc to 213,000mt.
Turkey’s pig iron imports from Germany, Brazil, and South Africa stood at 83,000mt, 58,000mt and 21,000mt, respectively, in the January-August period.
HBI imports in Turkey totaled 358,000mt in in the first eight months of the year compared with 433,000mt in the same period last year, according to SteelData. Libya was the key HBI supplier to Turkey and doubled its shipments of the material more to 139,000mt. It was followed by the USA, which increased supply by 76.9pc to 136,000mt. Turkey’s HBI imports from Russia dropped by 67pc to 81,000mt.