Turkey’s crude steel production soars in 2017

İstanbul, July 5 (DHA) - Turkey’s crude steel production rose 11.5 percent on an annual basis in the first five months of 2017, reaching 15.1 million tons, the Turkish Steel Producers’ Association (TCUD) said on Tuesday.      
Turkey was listed as the world’s eighth largest crude steel producer, contributing to about 2.2 percent of global crude steel output, according to TCUD data.         
Global crude steel production climbed 4.7 percent in the first five months of the year compared to the same period in 2016, reaching 694.9 million tons.        
China kept the top spot among crude steel producers, with a total production of 347 million tons, a 49.9 percent share of world crude steel production.        
Turkey’s steel export volume also surged 22.5 percent annually to reach 8.5 million tons in the first five months of 2017. The value of steel exports ballooned 33.7 percent to 5.7 billion USD in the same period.        
In the same period, steel imports to Turkey fell 20.3 percent to 6.4 million tons yearly, while the value of these imports dipped 0.2 percent to 4.6 billion USD.        
Meanwhile, Turkey’s steel consumption lost 10.3 percent year-on-year to 12.22 million tons in the same period, while output rose between January and May.