Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, in his speech at the Ordinary General Assembly of the Turkish Steel Producers Association, said, “Today, Turkey ranks 1st in Europe and 7th in the world with its steel production of 40 million tons. I sincerely congratulate all the members around this table, the Turkish iron and steel industrialists, and more than 55 thousand working brothers and sisters for their success.”
Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank attended the Ordinary General Assembly meeting of the Turkish Steel Producers Association. Speaking at the meeting held in a hotel in Besiktas, Varank announced that Turkey ranks 1st in Europe and 7th in the world, with 40 million tons of steel production, and invited industry representatives to invest.
Minister Varank said, “Our capacity utilization rate has reached the level of 76%. We are in 6th place in the world with 22 million tons of steel exports worth $25 billion. This figure means about 12% of our total exports. I would like to congratulate all the members around this table, Turkish iron and steel industrialists and more than 55 thousand working brothers and sisters for their success. However, I make a note below: If we say that we will make Turkey a global base in investment, production and export, we have to increase these figures even higher. Of course it’s not easy.”
“WE HAVE TO CATCH THE ERA”
Stating that he is aware of the fact that the breaks in the supply chain, social, political and economic crises seriously affect the whole world and all sectors, Varank said, “Especially fragile and unusual raw material pricing, you all know. Here is the closest example of scrap… The price of scrap is in a short period of 2-3 months. In a short time, it can go up to $700 and then go down to $470. As a country that imports one-fifth of the world’s steel scrap with 25 million tons per year, we are most affected by this situation. This actually gives us a clear message: We should increase the competitiveness of the sector by utilizing opportunities, modernize our facilities, in short, catch up with the era. What does this mean? If we need heavy scrap, if there is fragility in this area, it is time to roll up our sleeves for DRI facilities. We expect investments in this field from our sector representatives.”
“WE CAN MAKE THIS SUCCESS PERMANENT WITH NEW PROJECTS”
Minister Varank said, “Of course, the legislation and practices within the borders of Turkey are not enough to reveal the potential of the sector. There is also an international dimension to the business. For this reason, we equate your interests with the interests of our country in the international arena. We closely follow the protection taxes applied by the USA and EU countries and the investigations opened with our Ministry of Commerce. In contact with the World Trade Organization, we will continue to seek the rights of our industrialists against all kinds of practices that lead to unfair competition. Apart from that, we started the Turkish Steel Industry 2030 Roadmap studies with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). By the end of this year, we will have completed our work on many issues, including green transformation, and have determined strategic actions. The reason why we are doing this work with the EBRD is that the steps we will take in the next 10 years are directly recognized by the EU. Thus, we will pave the way for our iron and steel industry to easily benefit from international funds and loans. As you know, we were experiencing problems in terms of International Funding Resources, and for many years we could not receive the full return for our contribution to these funds. However, in the last few years, we have been able to provide more finance than we have contributed. We can make this success permanent with the new projects you will prepare.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz