Thursday 6 September 2012

Turkish Steel Exporters to hold Business Talks with Government, Private Sector






Mr. Namik Ekinci, the Chairman of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association that will be meeting top government officials and private sector steel dealers next week.
A high-powered delegation of Turkish steel exporters is set to visit Kenya next week to meet with government officials and private sector commercial importers and industrial users of steel on possible business partnerships.


Kenya is currently a net importer of steel and has suffered heavily due to global foreign exchange shocks and a partnership aimed at increasing supply for the commodity would be a welcome reprieve.

The delegation comprising 22 Turkish steel manufacturers and exporters will arrive in the country on September 16th led by Mr. Namik Ekinci, the Chairman of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association.

According to the delegation’s itinerary, the team will hold meetings with key ministries in the country charged with implementing infrastructure projects which require a heavy input of steel and regulating mining activities. These ministries include Nairobi Metropolitan, Industrialization, Trade and the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources. Apart from Nairobi, the team is also expected to meet private sector dealers in steel at the Coastal town of Mombasa.

“We are coming to make contact with relevant government departments and private sector players who deal in steel. We are optimistic that these discussions will further cement the vibrant trade relations that Kenya and Turkey have enjoyed over the years,” said Mr. Ekinci.


The Turkish companies represented are offering a wide range of flat and long steel products to Kenyan buyers, including HR/CR coils, diamond and tear-drop pattern plates, wire rods, billets, beams, bars, hollow sections, tubes, pipes and other steel products.

 
Kenya is currently enjoying a construction boom heightening the demand for steel and related products. This boom has seen a sharp rise in the prices of steel.  For instance, the price of the twisted bars, the universal beams used to make reinforcement frames for tall buildings, has increased by 25 per cent to KSh120 a kilogramme from KSh96 a kilogramme in May this year.
 

Statistics indicate that steel imports have grown by more than 100 per cent in the past five years from KSh21 billion to KSh43 billion driven by increased investment in the construction sector and infrastructure projects.

 
Turkey has emerged very strongly on the global steel market and is today the second largest crude steel producer in Europe, and tenth largest in the world. Total crude steel production was expected to reach 38 million tons at the end of 2012, with exports or around 18.1 million tons worth US$ 15.4 billion in 2011. Turkish steel has been in several high-profile projects around the world, including the Al Burj tower in Dubai, at 1,050 meters the world’s tallest building, the Dubai Underground Project, Heathrow Airport terminal extension, Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline. Turkish steel is also used in car manufacturing of Toyota Corolla and Verso, Honda Civic & City, Hyundai Accent & Matrix, Renault Megane & Clio and Fiat Albea, Palio Doblo & Linea.  


Steel Exporters’ Association was established in October 2005 with the basic aims of increasing exports and facilitating the business of its 550 member firms. The Association maximizes Turkey’s steel export potential by undertaking studies on harmonization of types, qualities and quantities of exportable products with importing countries’ needs, organizing trade missions to potential export markets, bringing buyer missions to Turkey, organizing seminars, fairs and exhibitions, resolving problems faced by member firms arising from export transactions and carrying out other activities to support its members and their business.

 

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