Russian cast iron is being exported to Turkey now through St Petersburg and Murmansk but the price is falling and exports costs are rising. This is out of necessity as the Black Sea is closed and Murmansk hasn't been used for cast iron exports in 30 years.
Russia is again selling cast iron on the Turkish market but with diminished returns. A deal has surfaced for the shipment of 40 000 tons at 415 USD per ton under CFR conditions via St Petersburg but the actual price could have been lower as Turkey is buying at 405 USD per ton. Another deal for 65 000 tons shipped via Murmansk is in the works and there the price for some of the iron already sold is even lower at 400 USD per ton under CFR conditions. As a rule shipping prices from Murmansk are higher but due to the larger volume of 65 000 tons it could have been cheaper than shipping a lot of 30-40 000 tons from St Petersburg. Due to the competition with grain cargo the cost of freight from St Petersburg for a 30 000 ton shipment of cast iron rose by 10 USD to 70-75 USD per ton. Transshipment of cast iron has resumed after the port stopping such operations in 1996. This is due to the pressure on the Russian Baltic ports after the closure of the Azov Black Sea basin. Russia had previously increased the exports of cast iron to Turkey by 61% year over year in August to 118 900 tons. For Jan-Aug 2026 the growth was 42,9% to 1,59 million tons. Russia accounted for 88% of Turkish cast iron imports for the period with India being second with 87 500 tons and Ukraine third with 83 160 tons. The low demand for rebar and the contraction of steel production is limiting cast iron sales. The reduction of the duty free quota for Turkish steel to the EU may also limit Russian cast iron exports to Turkey as in 2025 the country exported 7 million tons of steel to the EU and for 2026 it has just a 2,5 million ton quota. Source: kommersant.ru
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