Turkey to blow through EU rebar quota

Turkish rebar exporters and European importers say that around 104,000t of Turkish rebar has been traded already for clearance on 1 October.

This is 67pc above Turkey's duty-free quota of 61,938t for the fourth quarter of the calendar year, meaning duties of around €50-60/t will be payable on a significant chunk of the volume.

Romania and Germany have bought 45,000t and 26,000t, respectively, for September shipment. Bulgaria and France have bought 21,500t and 12,300t, respectively.

In addition, Germany has bought 15,000t from one Marmara-based mill and 10,000t from another Marmara-based mill for end of November shipment, in order to be custom-cleared for the next quarter starting on 1 January 2022. It is not guaranteed that these bookings will be subject to zero import tax as bookings for the 1 January 2022 deadline could again exceed the 62,000t threshold. Once a country's quota is quickly oversubscribed in one quarter, importers have to hold over material, meaning it is very likely to exceed again in the next three months.

By Alex Reynolds