Representatives of the construction and real estate sector in Turkey have sharply criticized the rise in prices for iron and concrete. Experts explain that even a 30% rise in the cost of these two key construction materials will negatively affect the sector. Since the beginning of 2020, the cost of a ton of iron in Turkey has increased from 3,000 TL to 4,200 TL. Metal suppliers explain this by the fact that the price of a ton of iron used in construction excluding VAT increased from $ 395 (in March) to $ 465 (in September).
Ömer Bulut, head of the social construction department at the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urban Development: “ The mortgage campaign has revived the construction and real estate sector in Turkey, but the rise in prices for iron and cement, the most important materials in housing construction, is negatively affecting the entire industry. If we think of the Turkish construction sector as a tree trunk, then subsectors are branches of this tree. If each subsector begins to strive for super profits, then the entire tree will dry up."
In response to criticism, steelmakers report that scrap and iron ore prices have increased by 30-50 percent in the past few months. Cement producers, in turn, attribute the rise in prices to a decline in the industry, which negatively affected cement-producing enterprises.