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Asia Steel Market: EU Trade Deals Loom as Izmir Plant Hits Peak, Bengang Cools

Asia’s steel market displays positive sentiment amidst evolving trade dynamics, particularly with the EU. The intensified India-EU FTA talks, as indicated by “India-EU FTA Talks Enter Final Leg As Goyal Heads To Brussels, EU Team Lands In Delhi” and “India, EU Discuss Positive Resolution Of Outstanding Issues Of Trade Deal“, are expected to influence regional steel flows. Satellite data reveals activity shifts in tandem with these negotiations, though direct causal links are difficult to firmly establish for most plants.

Bar chart and satellite map of steel production activity in Asia

The mean steel plant activity in Asia peaked in August at 40% and dropped to 23% in October.

Kardemir Celik Sanayi Izmir steel plant, an EAF-based Turkish producer with a 1.25 million tonne crude steel capacity focused on finished rolled products for automotive and infrastructure, saw a consistent activity increase, reaching 100% in October. This peak activity cannot be directly linked to the EU-India trade talks reported in “India-EU FTA Talks Enter Final Leg As Goyal Heads To Brussels, EU Team Lands In Delhi“.

Bengang Steel Plates Co., Ltd., a major integrated BF-BOF steel plant in Liaoning, China, with a 12.8 million tonne crude steel capacity, experienced a decrease in activity from 52% in August to 40% in October. Bengang Steel Plates is focusing on automotive plates, pipeline steel and container plates. This activity decline cannot be directly linked to any of the provided news articles.

Asil Celik Orhangazi steel plant, a smaller EAF-based Turkish producer with a 0.55 million tonne crude steel capacity, showed a fluctuating trend, settling at 40% activity in October, slightly below the mean. They mainly produce crude, semi-finished, and finished rolled products. This activity cannot be directly linked to any of the provided news articles.

Evaluated Market Implications:

Given the ongoing EU-India FTA negotiations (“European Council Approves ‘New Strategic EU-India Agenda’, Supports Efforts To Conclude FTA“), potential trade shifts impacting regional steel supply are emerging.

  • Supply Considerations: The Kardemir Celik Sanayi Izmir steel plant at peak production, coupled with potential shifts in trade dynamics resulting from the India-EU FTA, suggests possible increased competition in specific finished rolled product segments in the European market.

  • Procurement Actions: Steel buyers should closely monitor the progress of the India-EU FTA negotiations (“India-EU FTA Talks Enter Final Leg As Goyal Heads To Brussels, EU Team Lands In Delhi“) and proactively engage with suppliers to understand potential pricing adjustments in finished rolled products (automotive, building, infrastructure) for early 2026 delivery, stemming from increased Turkish output and potentially altered trade flows.