The President of Türkiye Steel Export Association suggested that the country's steel industry readjust its growth strategy

News from our newspaper (reporter Su Yahong) On February 19, Adnan Aslan, president of Türkiye Iron and Steel Export Association (CIB), publicly said that under the background of multiple pressures, Türkiye's steel industry needs to readjust its growth strategy.
He stated that the country's steel industry needs to shift its focus to surrounding and adjacent regions, rather than distant markets, while emphasizing that the transformation of its own product structure is the key to achieving sustainable export growth.
In 2025, Türkiye's steel export volume will reach 19.43 million tons, the total export volume will reach 16.5 billion dollars, and the average export price will be 851 dollars/ton. Although the unit price has declined year-on-year, the growth in export volume reflects the ability of the country's steel industry to adapt to the changing global market environment.
Adnan Aslan stated that it is more reasonable to prioritize markets with closer geographical distances compared to the high logistics costs in the ocean market. The European market, Balkan market, Eastern Europe, and neighboring countries' regional markets have been identified as the core target areas. He believes that the trend of regional development in the steel industry is strengthening, and high logistics costs and trade barriers have increased the difficulty of long-distance exports. Surrounding markets have advantages such as faster delivery speeds, more flexible production, and closer commercial connections. Meanwhile, he believes that the uncertainty of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism is one of the main reasons for the stagnation of the European market. Once the relevant policies are clear, the European market is expected to recover, and the recovery is expected to begin from March to April.
He also introduced that as the second pillar of the new growth strategy, Türkiye's steel industry will transform to produce high value-added products. At present, its long materials (especially threaded steel) still account for a large proportion in exports, but the added value of threaded steel is low, and this product structure is not sustainable. Türkiye's steel industry needs to increase the proportion of cold-rolled sheet, galvanized sheet and color coated sheet in the medium and long term, as well as the export proportion of high value-added products such as stainless steel.
Finally, he revealed that the country's steel industry's export target for 2026 is to export 20 million tons, with a planned export value of 17 billion US dollars.