Turkey’s finished steel exports gain 15.41% in June
6 August 2026: Turkish finished steel exports recorded a strong monthly performance in June 2026, with total shipments rising by 15.41% year-on-year to 1.74 million tonnes (Mt). However, YTD performance remained under pressure, edging down 1.51% to 8.30 Mt across January–June 2026, reflecting shifting trade flows as the CBAM entered into force from January 2026 and updated steel trade framework took effect on 1 July 2026.
Romania retained its position as Turkey's largest export destination, absorbing 774,935 tonnes in January–June 2026, though this represented a sharp decline of 20.15% compared to the same period last year. In June alone, shipments to Romania fell 38.31% year-on-year to 168,861 tonnes.
Yemen recorded the sharpest monthly gain among top destinations, with June shipments reaching 104,760 tonnes – the largest volume since January 2025 – a jump of 173.77% year-on-year driven predominantly by rebar volumes, bringing its YTD total to 448,839 tonnes, up 11.17%.
The United States also posted a striking increase, with June exports surging 506.26% year-on-year to 74,624 tonnes, and YTD volumes climbing 31.00% to 223,792 tonnes, likely reflecting redirected trade flows amid evolving global tariff structures.
The United Kingdom emerged as one of the standout growth markets of the period, with June shipments surging 49.41% year-on-year to 71,808 tonnes, contributing to a remarkable YTD gain of 101.26% to 497,422 tonnes more than doubling last year's volumes. This exceptional growth likely reflects accelerated prebuying activity ahead of stricter UK trade measures implemented on 1 July 2026.
Ukraine showed resilience with June shipments rising 35.74% year-on-year to 92,527 tonnes, though YTD growth remained modest at 4.67% to 446,335 tonnes, as active anti-dumping measures and ongoing trade investigations continue to weigh on Turkish mill access to the Ukrainian market.
In contrast, traditional European markets remained under pressure. Italy recorded a June decline of 34.21% to 98,348 tonnes, with YTD volumes falling 26.26% to 525,242 tonnes. Spain saw June shipments ease 8.33% to 57,943 tonnes, with YTD exports contracting sharply by 39.54% to 282,364 tonnes. Greece also softened, down 30.52% in June to 59,313 tonnes, though its YTD decline was contained at 7.74%.
Egypt and Morocco bucked the European trend, posting YTD gains of 21.38% and 11.71% respectively, as Turkish mills increasingly pivot toward North African markets to offset European trade restrictions.
