A high-powered delegation of Turkish steel exporters is due in Kenya in mid-September to meet with government officials, private businessmen and industrial users of steel on possible partnerships. The delegation comprising 22 Turkish steel manufacturers and exporters will arrive in the country on Sept. 16 led by the chairman of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association, Namik Ekinci. "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, " Ekinci said ahead of the visit. 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. 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. 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 percent to 1.42 U.S. dollars a kg from 1.14 dollars a kg in May. Statistics indicate that steel imports have grown by more than 100 percent in the past five years from 250 million dollars to 512 million dollars 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 tonnes at the end of 2012, with exports or around 18.1 million tonnes worth 15.4 billion dollars 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. Xinhuanet
