Russia remains Türkiye's largest semi finished timber supplier

According to the latest monthly data of Türkiye Institute of Statistics (TUIK), Türkiye's total imports of semi finished timber in October fell 22% year-on-year to 352500 tons. However, as of the first nine months of 2023, the total import volume still increased by 46% year-on-year, reaching 4.6 million tons. Until October, Russia was still Türkiye's largest semi finished timber supplier. In October, the supply was 191300 tons, up 37% year on year, lower than 338000 tons in the same period last year HCT780C+ZM steel.

The European Union announced on June 23 that steel imported into the EU must prove that its materials are not from Russia before April 2024. This is part of the 11th round of EU sanctions against Moscow, which may have an impact on Türkiye's imports of semi manufactured timber from Russia as of March. Before that, Türkiye may continue to import HCT780C+ZM steel billets and thick plates from Russia because the quotation of Russian steel mills is more competitive.

According to TUIK data, in October 2023, Türkiye's imports of semi-finished products from Ukraine dropped to zero. Indonesia became the second largest supplier of semi-finished products to Türkiye, with a supply of 50000 tons, compared with zero in the same period last year. Vietnam is Türkiye's third largest supplier, with the supply volume reaching 31000 tons in October. Data shows that by October 2023, other semi-finished steel suppliers in Türkiye include Malaysia (30500 tons), Algeria (20000 tons), Iran (10300 tons) and Algeria (10000 tons) HCT780C+ZM steel.