Turkish pipe exports drop 4% during Jan-Feb '15: CEBID

ANKARA (Scrap Monster): The recent data released by the Turkish Steel Pipe Manufacturers Association (CEBID) shows that Turkish steel pipe exports declined during the initial two-month period in 2015.

The pipe exports during January to February this year totaled 285,900 tons, down 3.6% when compared with the exports during the corresponding two-month period in 2014. The country had exported 296,600 tons of pipes during the first two months in 2014.

The largest importer of Turkish steel pipes was the US. The US imports during Jan-Feb ’15 totaled 53,588 tons, accounting for almost one-fifth of the total Turkish exports during this period. The US pipe imports from Turkey surged higher by 84.5% during the two-month period year-on-year. The second largest destination of Turkish steel pipes was Iraq. The imports by Iraq totaled 50,224 tons, down 20.3% when matched with the imports during the previous year.

The drop in exports during the first two months of the year leaves the industry skeptical about the earlier export forecasts announced by the Turkish Steel Pipe Manufacturers Association (CEBID). The association had earlier predicted that the pipe exports for 2015 are likely to cross the target of 2 million tons in 2015, even higher when compared with the 2014 export of 1.95 million tons. The exports which dropped significantly during the second half of 2014 had shown signs of recovery during November and December.