THE FUTURE OF THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY WAS DISCUSSED AT STEEL SUMMIT 2025
THE GLOBAL IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY GATHERED IN İZMİR
STEEL SUMMIT 2025, organized by SteelRadar and bringing together leading figures of the steel industry, took place in İzmir on May 15-16 as the "1st International Steel Industry and Global Markets Summit," featuring sessions that shed light on the future of the sector. The summit, attended by numerous domestic and international professionals, covered a wide range of topics—from raw materials to green steel, and from flat steel to the scrap market.
The opening speeches were delivered by Cem Öztüre, Founder and Chairman of SteelRadar, and Feyyaz Yazar, Executive Board Member of İzmir Demir Çelik (İDÇ). Cem Öztüre spoke about the history of SteelRadar, a subsidiary of Öztüre Holding. “Our goal at SteelRadar is to communicate with the market, maintain real-time interaction, and be an honest and accurate platform free from speculation,” Öztüre stated.
Addressing the challenges faced by decision-makers, Öztüre commented,
“Decision-makers are like pilots looking at the indicators in the cockpit of a plane. Their eyes must be on the markets. Price alone is not enough to make decisions; raw material and finished product inventories are also determining factors in this process. Decision-makers have to make critical choices around 300 days a year. Measuring their performance is quite difficult; therefore, management must both trust and monitor them. Platforms like ours, in the least, offer some guidance to decision-makers.”
“In this context, we must stand like steel: strong and unyielding.”
Feyyaz Yazar, Executive Board Member of İzmir Demir Çelik (İDÇ), shared his views on the Turkish steel industry. “We are facing some negative regulations domestically. The most significant of these is the “Rebar Tracking System”, known as İDİS, introduced for long products in 2024. This regulation, which brings no benefit to the sector, causes an additional cost of about 2 dollars per ton due to labeling and painting alone. This does not include labor and other expenses. Additionally, there are other regulations, such as the partial offer obligation, which do not provide any benefit to the sector,” Yazar stated.
Yazar noted, “While our industry struggles with fierce international competition on one hand, on the other, it is making great efforts to ensure sustainability in the face of unfavorable domestic regulations. I believe we can change this process. In this context, we must stand like steel: strong and unyielding. As the Turkish steel industry, we must act in unity.”
"We anticipate a recovery in consumer sectors beginning in the second half of the year."
Dr. Veysel Yayan, Secretary General of the Turkish Steel Producers Association (TÇÜD), provided an assessment of the sector’s capacity utilization alongside the effects of economic and political developments in his presentation entitled “The Macro Outlook and Development of the Turkish Steel Industry.”
Yayan noted that Türkiye experienced a 9.4% growth in 2024, contrary to global trends. “The manufacturing sector is one of the primary consumers of steel. This sector recorded limited growth in 2024. We had more optimistic expectations for 2025; however, recent political developments and economic fluctuations have complicated the process. This situation, which led to the depletion of $55 billion in foreign exchange reserves, was partially stabilized through interventions by the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance. We expect improvements in consumer sectors such as construction and automotive starting from the second half of the year,” Yayan stated.
Yayan also addressed the new trade policies of the Trump administration and the European Union, stating that EU quotas and Trump tariffs are seen as measures that will balance competition and are regarded as positive developments. “The progress in Türkiye’s exports largely depends on the course of Trump’s policies. The fluctuating tariffs on China and similar decisions by the EU are based not on principles but on negotiations. In this scenario, Türkiye is neither in an advantageous nor disadvantageous position,” Yayan added.
“Türkiye is no longer among countries producing low-cost products”
Mehmet Çakmur, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of Kocaer Steel, the Gold Sponsor and Lunch Sponsor of the summit, stated that with their 3 factories, they have reached an annual production capacity of 800,000 tons and aim to complete 2025 with 600,000 tons of production.
Çakmur explained, “We work as solution partners with most of our customers. We export to six continents and have held the export championship of the Aegean Region for seven consecutive years.”
Emphasizing their goal to focus on high value-added products, Çakmur stated, “Türkiye is no longer among countries producing low-cost products. Our costs and labor expenses are high. Therefore, it is essential for us to focus on value-added products. In line with our sustainability and decarbonization targets, we are conducting comprehensive studies in areas such as emissions, water resource usage, and social equity.”
After the speeches, panel sessions began. On the first day of the summit, panels were held on scrap, green steel, and long products. Subsequently, a gala dinner sponsored by SteelRadar took place. During the gala night, Jak Eskinazi, President of the Aegean Exporters’ Associations (EİB), and Yalçın Ertan, President of EDMİD, congratulated İzmir Demir Çelik (İDÇ), which celebrated its 50th anniversary and was the Platinum Sponsor of STEEL SUMMIT 2025, for its contributions to the sector, and presented a plaque to İDÇ Board Chairman Halil Şahin.
The summit continued to attract great interest on the second day as well. Panels organized under the topics of Asian Markets, Middle East and African Markets, and Flat Steel addressed the sector’s current issues in a comprehensive and interactive manner.
At the end of the event, participants expressed their satisfaction, while Cem Öztüre, Founder and Chairman of SteelRadar, thanked all stakeholders who contributed to the summit, including the Main Platinum Sponsor İzmir Demir Çelik (İDÇ), Gold Sponsor and Lunch Sponsor Kocaer Steel, Silver Sponsor & Coffee Break Sponsor DNA PC Strand, Bronze Sponsor and Cocktail Sponsor QSI Certification & Inspection, Bronze Sponsors Green Chemicals, Hedef Portföy, Pergamon Dış Ticaret, Vişne Madencilik, as well as all media partners.
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