Turkey’s aluminium imports peak at 1.05 MT in 2016 driven by downstream demand

Turkish aluminium industry is characterized by the presence of a large number of international and regional manufacturers of downstream aluminium products and a single producer of primary aluminium- Eti Aluminium. The only integrated producer of primary aluminium in the country, Eti's production volume (annual capacity: 82,000 tonnes) falls considerably short of the demand that is there in the domestic market. Hence, key consumer sectors namely construction material manufacturers, automotive OEMs, and packaging companies have to rely majorly on imports of primary (non-alloyed) aluminium and alloyed aluminium ingots as raw materials for their production units.

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Turkey’s aluminium import in last three years peaked in 2016, when the total volume imported reached 1.05 million tonnes (1052855.025 tonnes). The figure mirrored an impressive double-digit growth (23.3 per cent year-on-year) in demand that was made possible due to robust productivity enhancement in the downstream sectors. In 2015, aluminium (alloyed and non-alloyed) ingot imports by Turkey totalled 853840.49 tonnes.

In 2017, the Eurasian country is estimated import 818892.96 tonnes of alloyed and non-alloyed aluminium ingots. The value of import is estimated to reach US$1.49 billion, down 19.4 per cent from 2016. Last year, Turkey purchased alloyed and non-alloyed aluminium ingots worth US$1.85 billion from the international market.

The countries from where Turkey sourced maximum volume of its aluminium supplies in 2016 include Bahrain (45500.40 tonnes), India (63209.99 tonnes), Iran (42382.57 tonnes), Kazakhstan (26088.39 tonnes), Russian Federation (353690.14 tonnes), Saudi Arabia (27585.79 tonnes), UAE (66928.12 tonnes), Qatar (73495.74 tonnes), and Oman (12405.49 tonnes).

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The latest market report by Technavio says Turkey's aluminium manufacturing market in Turkey will grow at a moderate CAGR of approximately 4 per cent until 2020. The downstream players are increasing their R&D budgets to develop products that will meet the standards of their end users scattered globally. An increase in the R&D spending will help manufacturers to modernize their production processes and improve their overall productivity. This entire process will eventually lead to a rise in demand for aluminium alloyed and non-alloyed ingots pushing import volumes higher year-on-year.