Export markets — ports, transit time, documents
Sea from Ambarlı and Gemlik, truck from Dilovası to the EU, Balkans, Iraq and the Caucasus, ferry across the Caspian to Central Asia. Each country page lists the ports we ship to, typical transit, the Incoterms we quote and the certificates arranged before loading.
Other markets
We also ship regularly to Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Greece, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ireland, the Nordics and the UK. Ask on the Request a quote for a landed price.
What a destination changes about an order
The steel does not change between markets. Four things around it do, and they decide whether a shipment clears or sits.
Conformity. Saudi Arabia wants a SABER certificate before the goods arrive, Nigeria a SONCAP issued against a pre-shipment inspection, Iraq a certificate of conformity from an approved body. These are obtained before loading, not afterwards, and a container that arrives without one is a demurrage problem rather than a paperwork problem.
Preference. Steel sits outside the EU–Türkiye customs union, so an A.TR does not carry it. The document that reduces duty into the EU is EUR.1 or an invoice declaration, and asking for the wrong one is one of the commonest delays on a first order.
Route. Truck to the Balkans and Central Europe, truck or rail-assisted to Iraq and the Caucasus, container through Ambarlı and Gemlik to the Gulf, Africa and Asia. The route sets the lead time and the packing, and the packing is not the same for a 40-day sea leg as for a three-day truck run.
Payment. L/C at sight is the default on a first order; deferred terms are priced, not free.
Packing is a destination decision
A bundle that survives a truck to Bucharest is not automatically a bundle that survives a container to Lagos. Sea freight adds condensation, handling at transhipment and weeks of movement.
Coated material travels with VCI paper or film and desiccant on long sea legs; bare hot-rolled plate travels oiled or accepts light surface rust as normal and is descaled on arrival. Long products are bundled and strapped at intervals that suit the crane at the discharge port as much as the one at the loading yard. Timber and strapping on galvanized and pre-painted material are chosen so they do not mark the coating.
Where a destination has its own marking rules — grade, heat number, weight, origin stencilled or labelled per bundle — they are applied at packing, because a container is not re-opened at the port to add a label.
What to send with an export enquiry
Five lines make the difference between a quotation and a conversation: the product and size list, the grade and standard, the quantity, the destination port or address, and the Incoterm.
The last two are the ones most often left out, and they are the ones that move the number. FOB Istanbul, CFR Jebel Ali and DAP Bucharest are three different prices for identical steel, and inland haulage at the far end can exceed the ocean leg on a landlocked destination.
Add the certificate level if the project needs more than an EN 10204 3.1, and say whether a third-party inspection is required — SGS, BV and TÜV all inspect at Dilovası before dispatch, but the inspection has to be booked while the material is being produced.
Countries with their own page
Each market page on this site carries what is specific to that destination: the customs regime and the conformity certificate it demands, the usual route and transit time, the documents in the order they are needed, the grades that market actually buys, and the local standard names those grades are quoted under.
Where a country has no page yet, the process is the same and the documents differ — send the enquiry with the destination and the answer will name them.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries do you export steel to?
Regularly to the Gulf, Iraq, the Caucasus and Central Asia, Romania and the Balkans, Germany and Western Europe, and West Africa. Each destination with its own page carries the customs regime, route, transit time and document sequence for that market.
Do you supply an A.TR certificate for shipments to the EU?
Not for steel. The EU–Türkiye customs union covers industrial goods and excludes coal and steel, which are governed by a separate 1996 free trade agreement. The preference document for steel is EUR.1 or an invoice declaration.
What is the minimum order quantity?
It depends on the product and whether the item is held. Stock sizes ship from a few tonnes; mill-programme items carry a minimum per size, typically around 25 tonnes for flat products. Mixed-size containers are accepted with a small-lot surcharge.
How long does delivery take?
Stock material ships in days. Mill-programme items are four to eight weeks from order. Transit adds to that: three to seven days by truck to the Balkans and Iraq, two to four weeks by container to the Gulf, longer to West Africa and Asia.
Which documents travel with the goods?
Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or CMR, EN 10204 mill certificate, certificate of origin, and the preference document where one applies. Conformity certificates such as SABER, SONCAP or a certificate of conformity are arranged before shipment where the destination requires them.