According to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), in February this year Turkey's seamless pipe imports fell 4.9 percent compared to January and were up 20.6 percent compared to February 2012, amounting to 14,258 metric tons.
In February, Turkey's seamless pipe imports from the CIS amounted to 752 mt, continuing the decreasing trend observed since December last year and constituting the lowest level since September 2010, while the EU exported of 4,348 mt of seamless pipes to Turkey in February this year, increasing by 5.9 percent on month-on-month basis and up 8.75 percent over February 2012.
Turkey's seamless pipe imports from China, its largest seamless pipe source in February, amounted to 7,489 metric tons, up 3.8 percent compared to January and double year on year. In the first two months of the year, China exported 14,697 mt of seamless pipe to Turkey, nearly double compared to the same period last year with a 92.3 percent rise. In the first two months, Ukraine followed China, exporting 2,589 mt of seamless pipes to Turkey, down 50 percent compared to the same period of 2012. Meanwhile, Turkey imported 2,524 mt of seamless pipe from Mexico in the two months in question, the first exports from Mexico since the 246 mt recorded in September 2011.
Turkey's seamless pipe import distribution with respect to source countries in January-February 2013 is as follows:
