Turkey imported 21 percent of the total scrap metal in the world in 2012, becoming the world leader in scrap imports, a recent report finds.
A report by the Steel Exporters' Association last week revealed that in 2012 the total amount of scrap metal imports internationally was 108 million tons and that Turkey received 21 percent of this.
Turkey's imports increased by 4 percent over the previous year, and the difference between the leader and the second largest importer in the ranking is wide.
South Korea, the second largest scrap metal importer in the world, constitutes 9 percent of the total imports, followed by India with 8 percent. One interesting finding in the report is that 30 percent of US scrap exports went to Turkey, while Britain sent 32 percent, Russia 47 percent, the Netherlands 30 percent, Belgium 37 percent and Germany 7 percent of exports to Turkey. The association states that the huge volume of imports is attributable to the lack of domestic supply, insufficient amounts of steel in old buildings, lack of awareness and the failure to recycle electronic devices. The total amount paid for the scrap metal imported into Turkey in 2012 was $9.4 billion. This corresponds to 4 percent of Turkey's total imports that year ($236.5 billion). The total amount of steel produced in Turkey is expected to rise from 36 million tons to 70 million by 2023. Estimates indicate that demand for scrap will increase from 32.2 million tons to 60 million in the same period and that 41 million tons of this will imported.
The scrap metal import figures for developed nations are relatively low. This indicates that developing countries experience a serious problem of productivity. Germany and Italy were able to reduce their scrap imports remarkably over the years. Germany's scrap imports constitute 5 percent of the global tonnage. The amount of scrap imports in Italy, China and Taiwan were the same. Spain and Belgium import 4 percent, and the US 3 percent. On the other hand, developed nations are more focused on exports and production than they are on imports. The global scrap production was 551 million tons in 2012; Europe produced 110 million, the US 79 million, Japan 44 million and Russia 25 million. Russia is a net exporter of scrap because it consumes 20 million tons; however, this will be reversed by 2023. China, on the other hand, will become a net exporter. The Chinese Iron and Steel Union reports that the total amount of steel production between 1949 and 2007 was 4.13 billion tons. Fifty-four percent of this amount was consumed between 2001 and 2007. The report indicates that India and South Korea are importing greater amounts of scrap, adding that this will increase the price in Turkey.
‘Importing scrap is the best solution available'
Noting that the Turkish steel industry supplies raw materials for the automotive, railway and machine industries, head of the Steel Exporters' Association Namık Ekinci added that if semi-manufactured products were imported, instead of scrap, the foreign trade deficit would increase by $5.3 billion and employment would decline by 57 percent. The report indicates that $700 million worth of steel imports generate $900 million worth of automotive and household appliance exports. However, the export revenue from the $9.4 billion scrap imports is $6.5 billion. The total number of people employed in the sector is 33,000. The total amount of steel production in Turkey is 34.3 million tons, whereas the capacity is 50.4 million, which will increase to 61.3 million tons by 2023.
Meanwhile, in the first five months of the year, 86 foreign ships were recycled in Turkey. The total amount of revenue from this process was TL 38 million. In 2013, 232 ships were transported to the Aliağa Vessel Disassembly Zone, producing 750,000 tons of scrap, contributing TL 720 million to the economy. There are 21 vessel disassembly firms in different parts of Turkey. These firms convert the scrap into different products to be used in the ship and yacht construction industries.
Source: todayszaman.com
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