On 1 October 2026 SteelOrbis published Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) figures for ferrous scrap imports. In August Turkey took 1.40 million tonnes, 0.5 percent more than a year earlier and 15.7 percent less than July. The August invoice was 561.89 million dollars, up 11.5 percent year on year and down 18.6 percent on the month.

For January to August the book is still larger than last year. Turkey imported 12.73 million tonnes, up 4.0 percent, at a value of 5.02 billion dollars, up 9.0 percent. The eight-month total therefore kept growing even after the August pause. Who buys European scrap still starts with Turkish electric-arc works. The new table shows where those cargoes are coming from, and the origin mix has shifted.

UK second, Dutch tonnes down by half a million

The United States remained the largest supplier in the eight-month total, at 2.48 million tonnes, up 7.2 percent. August US-origin arrivals fell 14.0 percent year on year to 269,070 tonnes, so the cumulative gain was not repeated in the latest month.

The United Kingdom moved ahead of the Netherlands into second place. UK shipments reached 1.50 million tonnes in January to August, up 4.3 percent, and August arrivals rose 27.0 percent year on year to 224,022 tonnes. Dutch shipments fell 25.8 percent to 1.46 million tonnes, a drop of 507,293 tonnes and the largest absolute decline among the suppliers SteelOrbis listed. Dutch arrivals in August were 87,300 tonnes, down 59.8 percent year on year.

Belgium, another North Sea loader, was almost unchanged on the eight-month total at 940,922 tonnes, down 2.7 percent, but August arrivals were 121,623 tonnes, down 19.9 percent. Denmark’s eight-month figure was 651,393 tonnes, up 1.8 percent; August arrivals were 5,909 tonnes against 68,319 a year earlier.

Germany stayed in the top ten with 423,775 tonnes in January to August, up 6.4 percent. August German-origin arrivals were 52,332 tonnes.

Romania and the Black Sea added the extra tonnes

Romania recorded the largest absolute increase, adding 365,104 tonnes as shipments rose 59.1 percent to 982,846 tonnes. Bulgaria more than doubled, to 250,814 tonnes, up 110.6 percent. Lithuania shipped 646,635 tonnes, up 15.7 percent, though August arrivals were down 17.0 percent. France ranked ninth at 428,809 tonnes, up 43.8 percent, and August French arrivals rose 359.1 percent year on year to 68,750 tonnes.

Russia placed sixth at 691,175 tonnes, up 31.8 percent. August Russian arrivals rose 87.7 percent year on year. Those tonnes compete with EU-origin cargoes on the same Turkish berth. They do not change the grade a European yard has to name.

The eight-month shift is short-sea and Black Sea growth against a weaker Dutch share. UK yards gained a rank. Dutch and some other North Sea loaders lost tonnes that Romanian, Bulgarian and French sellers filled.

What yards, traders and mills should do with the book

A Dutch or Belgian yard that treated Turkey as the default outlet for surplus HMS or shredded scrap is working from a smaller share than a year ago. The August drop after a firmer July is a reminder that Turkish restock is not a straight line. German ferrous recyclers told EUWID in September that they were waiting on a Turkish bid for October mark-ups. TUIK’s August pause is the volume side of that caution.

UK sellers who can load shredded or HMS into Iskenderun or Aliaga have more evidence that their origin is being taken. That is a different book from UK shredded into Port Qasim, where SteelOrbis recently described a quiet Pakistani programme.

Romanian and other Black Sea loaders have taken a larger slice of the same melt. An EU trader booking Rotterdam should not assume last year’s Dutch ranking still describes the competitive set. Freight and collection costs decide whether a North Sea cargo still clears against a Constanta or Black Sea stem.

Turkish mills remain the offtake. They buy a furnace recipe, usually HMS 1&2 80/20 or shredded, in cargo sizes. A European domestic mill bid is a different specification and a different freight path. Do not price one off the other without the seaborne cost in the middle. Scrap metal prices on an export lot are a delivered number into the melt, minus freight.

Turkey is an OECD member, so the 18 September Commission draft on non-OECD metal-waste destinations does not apply to these cargoes in the same way as India, Pakistan or Egypt. The file for a Turkish recovery is still a waste or end-of-waste shipment with a named plant.

How to name a Turkey-bound lot

Name HMS 1&2 80/20 if the mill is buying heavy melting, or shredded / ISRI 211 if it is fragmentiser steel. Do not call a mixed demolition pile shredded. State tonnes, packing (bulk or other), load port or city, and whether the sale is ex-works, FOB North Sea or Black Sea, or CFR Iskenderun or Aliaga.

Write the origin country. TUIK now treats UK, Dutch, Romanian, French and German stems as different lines. If Rhine draft or missing wagons have changed the load week, say so. Do not invent a copper cap or a thickness you have not measured.

Verified companies can place the parcel on live lots or post a wanted enquiry. Request access if you sell EU or UK ferrous or buy for a Turkish programme.