Turkey has a huge iron and steel industry, which produces major inputs for the construction industry. Turkey’s steel production rose 31.5 million tons in 2015. More than 35.000 people are employed in the sector. 6.3 billion tons of long products exported in 2015, and major markets for long products are the UAE, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Israel. Building materials exports reached about US$ 16.9 billion in 2017. Iron and steel products were the largest product group in sector exports. Within this group, iron & steel bars, sections and wires (US$ 6.3 million) rank first, and pipes and pipefittings (US$ 1.4 million) rank second by value. Insulated wires and cables with an export value of US$ 1.3 billion were one of the largest product groups. Plastic-based building products exports also ranked high with a value of US$ 1.1 billion in 2017. Turkish building materials were exported to about 200 countries in 2017. The main export markets are Germany, Iraq, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Türkiye has a great jewellery tradition. Turkey is one of the global leaders in gold jewellery production, ranking among the top three countries in the world in this aspect. Exports totaled 4,3 billion US Dollars in 2017, the major destinations were being the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, U.S.A., and Hong Kong. The Turkish gold jewellery companies have started to establish their own distribution channels abroad. The major companies in the industry have shops/corners in the USA, in Europe and in Dubai in the Middle East and in other countries in different regions of the world.
The iron and steel sector has shown an increase in both exports and domestic demand. As the iron and steel industry supplies input to almost all manufacturing sectors, it plays an important role in the industrialization and development of Turkey. Long iron and steel products with an export value of US$ 7.1 billion were the largest product group in sector exports. Flat products with an export value of US$ 1.8 billion were one of the largest product groups. Iron and steel pipes exports also ranked high with a value of US$ 1.6 billion in 2015. The other important iron and steel products in exports were steel billets (US$ 1.5 billion) and structural steel and parts (US$ 1.1 million). Among the markets that Turkish steel products are exported, the EU and Middle East the primary export markets.
