According to the information provided by the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers' Association, in the first quarter of 2010 Turkey's long steel production improved by 1.4 percent year on year, amounting to 4.71 mln metric tons. Long steel production accounted for 77.54 percent of the country's total steel production during the period in question, compared to 82.34 percent in Q1 2009.

Meanwhile, during Q1 2010, the country's flat steel output increased by 36.8 percent as compared to Q1 2009, totaling 1.36 mln metric tons. Flat steel production constituted 22.46 percent of total domestic steel output, compared to 17.64 percent in the corresponding period of 2009.

In the given period, Turkey produced 6.07 mln metric tons of steel, 7.6 percent up on Q1 2009. The production performed by electric arc furnace plants increased by 3.96 percent year on year, while steel production using blast furnaces increased by 17.2 percent compared to Q1 2009. In the first quarter of this year, 65.11 percent of production came from mini-mills, with the remaining 34.89 percent coming from integrated plants.

Source: Steelorbis