Turkey’s increasing iron and steel exports to Arab countries have begun to worry the Arab Iron and Steel Union, or AISU, after the country’s exports in the sector topped $1.8 billion during the first half of 2010, the union said.
AISU is now requesting urgent protectionist measures as Turkey’s iron and steel exports account for 40 percent of the domestic consumption in Arab countries.
Construction iron exports from Turkey have particularly caused “great harm” to Arab producers, according to Muhammad Laid Lachgar, secretary-general of AISU.
“Turkey, which exported 2.9 million tons of steel during the first quarter of 2008, increased this figure to 4.2 million tons this year,” he said.
The Turkish Iron and Steel Producers Association, or DÇÜD, said the protectionist call from the Arab union is “irrational.”
Speaking to business daily Referans, DÇÜD Secretary-General Veysel Yayan said: “On the one hand, Turkey signs free trade agreements with some countries and lifts visa requirements mutually. On the other, irrational demands are appearing from some countries. Turkey’s imports have also increased by 23 percent, but we do not introduce such protective measures.”
According to data from AISU, Turkey has exported construction iron worth $1.8 billion to Arab countries. Yayan has confirmed this figure, adding that Turkey’s steel exports to the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council member countries increased 7.5 percent in the first half of the year, compared to last year.
Russia, Ukraine and China are Turkey’s main competitors in the Arab market, although Turkey is the leading exporter to the region.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s steel exports to North Africa have dropped by 52 percent, Yayan said, adding that in 2009, overall exports experienced a 33-percent decline.
“We were not able to cover even one quarter of last year’s loss,” Yayan said in a statement on the website of Steel Business Briefing.
Noting that Turkey’s steel imports are also on the rise, Yayan said, “During the first five months of this year, steel imports have increased by 24.5 percent, compared with the same period last year, while steel exports dropped by 15 percent.”