A high-powered
delegation of Turkish steel exporters is set to visit Kenya next week to meet
with government officials and private sector commercial importers and
industrial users of steel on possible business partnerships.
Kenya is currently a net importer of steel and has suffered
heavily due to global foreign exchange shocks and a partnership aimed at
increasing supply for the commodity would be a welcome reprieve.
The delegation comprising 22 Turkish steel manufacturers and
exporters will arrive in the country on September 16th led by Mr.
Namik Ekinci, the Chairman of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association.
According to the delegation’s itinerary, the team will hold
meetings with key ministries in the country charged with implementing
infrastructure projects which require a heavy input of steel and regulating
mining activities. These ministries include Nairobi Metropolitan,
Industrialization, Trade and the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources.
Apart from Nairobi, the team is also expected to meet private sector dealers in
steel at the Coastal town of Mombasa.
“We are coming to make contact with relevant government
departments and private sector players who deal in steel. We are optimistic
that these discussions will further cement the vibrant trade relations that
Kenya and Turkey have enjoyed over the years,” said Mr. Ekinci.
The Turkish companies represented are offering a wide range
of flat and long steel products to Kenyan buyers, including HR/CR coils,
diamond and tear-drop pattern plates, wire rods, billets, beams, bars, hollow
sections, tubes, pipes and other steel products.
Kenya is currently enjoying a construction boom heightening
the demand for steel and related products. This boom has seen a sharp rise in
the prices of steel. For instance, the price of the twisted bars, the
universal beams used to make reinforcement frames for tall buildings, has
increased by 25 per cent to KSh120 a kilogramme from KSh96 a kilogramme in May
this year.
Statistics indicate that steel imports have grown by more
than 100 per cent in the past five years from KSh21 billion to KSh43 billion
driven by increased investment in the construction sector and infrastructure
projects.
Turkey has emerged very strongly on the global steel market
and is today the second largest crude steel producer in Europe, and tenth
largest in the world. Total crude steel production was expected to reach 38
million tons at the end of 2012, with exports or around 18.1 million tons worth
US$ 15.4 billion in 2011. Turkish steel has been in several high-profile
projects around the world, including the Al Burj tower in Dubai, at 1,050
meters the world’s tallest building, the Dubai Underground Project, Heathrow
Airport terminal extension, Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline and the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline. Turkish steel is also used in car
manufacturing of Toyota Corolla and Verso, Honda Civic & City, Hyundai
Accent & Matrix, Renault Megane & Clio and Fiat Albea, Palio Doblo
& Linea.
Steel Exporters’ Association was established in October 2005
with the basic aims of increasing exports and facilitating the business of its
550 member firms. The Association maximizes Turkey’s steel export potential by
undertaking studies on harmonization of types, qualities and quantities of
exportable products with importing countries’ needs, organizing trade missions
to potential export markets, bringing buyer missions to Turkey, organizing
seminars, fairs and exhibitions, resolving problems faced by member firms
arising from export transactions and carrying out other activities to support
its members and their business.
No comments:
Post a Comment