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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.
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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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