Steel prices in Romania — what was actually paid in 2024
Romania sits at the meeting point of two demand curves: a construction market that pulls hollow sections, purlins and roofing sheet, and an automotive supply chain around Craiova and Pitești that pulls coated and cold-rolled flat. The import tables show both at once, which is why the country's average unit value moves less than either sector on its own.
Last updated
These are declared border values, not offers. Romania reports them; we divide dollars by kilos. How it is done and where it breaks down →
- 3,371,357 tsteel imported (2024)
- 686,139 tsteel exported
- Net importer2,685,218 t short
Imports
What Romania imported and what it paid, 2024
| HS | Product | Tonnes | USD/tonne | Value (USD m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7213 | Wire rod | 734,145 | 643 | 472.0 |
| 7214 | Hot-rolled bar | 581,377 | 639 | 371.7 |
| 7210 | Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) | 548,577 | 1,101 | 604.1 |
| 7208 | Hot-rolled coil and plate | 483,093 | 841 | 406.3 |
| 730661 | Welded hollow section, square and rectangular | 320,306 | 794 | 254.4 |
| 7216 | Angles, shapes and sections | 250,356 | 946 | 236.8 |
| 7217 | Wire | 174,559 | 1,285 | 224.3 |
| 730630 | Welded tube, circular, non-alloy | 113,582 | 1,138 | 129.2 |
| 7209 | Cold-rolled sheet | 109,439 | 951 | 104.1 |
| 7212 | Narrow coated strip | 55,923 | 1,203 | 67.3 |
Exports
What Romania exported and what it received, 2024
| HS | Product | Tonnes | USD/tonne | Value (USD m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7208 | Hot-rolled coil and plate | 252,303 | 806 | 203.4 |
| 7216 | Angles, shapes and sections | 123,404 | 907 | 112.0 |
| 730661 | Welded hollow section, square and rectangular | 95,719 | 936 | 89.6 |
| 7210 | Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) | 60,545 | 1,289 | 78.0 |
| 730630 | Welded tube, circular, non-alloy | 52,672 | 1,086 | 57.2 |
| 7214 | Hot-rolled bar | 45,489 | 841 | 38.3 |
| 7209 | Cold-rolled sheet | 20,141 | 951 | 19.2 |
| 7212 | Narrow coated strip | 15,408 | 1,299 | 20.0 |
| 7213 | Wire rod | 12,016 | 729 | 8.8 |
| 7217 | Wire | 8,442 | 1,538 | 13.0 |
What the Romania numbers say
- Romanian buyers pay from 639 USD per tonne for hot-rolled bar to 1,285 for wire, a 2.0× span that tracks the split between construction steel and automotive-grade flat.
- The largest heading, Wire rod, is 22 % of the imported tonnage.
- The supply base is spread, with Türkiye taking 39 % of the five main lanes on that heading.
- On hot-rolled bar the country pays 639 and receives 841 USD per tonne. The 202 USD difference is where the domestic fabrication sits.
Buying and selling into Romania
- Romania is inside the EU customs union, so Turkish material enters against the safeguard quota and, when a category is exhausted, a 25 % duty. Deliveries move DAP by truck through the Bulgarian border in four to six days.
- The construction market pulls hollow sections, purlins and roofing sheet; the automotive supply chain around Craiova and Pitești pulls coated and cold-rolled flat.
- CE marking under EN 1090 is required for structural steelwork, and the declaration of performance is checked on site more strictly than in several neighbouring markets.
- Constanța handles seaborne cargo when a shipment is too large for road haulage.
Main supplying countries
Wire rod (HS 7213)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 242,710 | 623 |
| Moldova | 163,510 | 635 |
| Ukraine | 110,284 | 625 |
| Greece | 69,377 | 655 |
| Italy | 41,091 | 658 |
Hot-rolled bar (HS 7214)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 215,996 | 616 |
| Egypt | 124,160 | 592 |
| Bulgaria | 98,424 | 663 |
| Moldova | 47,877 | 615 |
| Italy | 27,008 | 792 |
Coated sheet (galvanized and painted) (HS 7210)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | 156,240 | 970 |
| Partner 699 | 53,424 | 1,042 |
| Belgium | 50,966 | 1,142 |
| Austria | 44,500 | 1,025 |
| Germany | 43,705 | 1,141 |
Hot-rolled coil and plate (HS 7208)
| Supplier | Tonnes | USD/tonne |
|---|---|---|
| Italy | 67,103 | 986 |
| Bulgaria | 60,362 | 801 |
| Ukraine | 47,436 | 663 |
| Türkiye | 45,838 | 748 |
| North Macedonia | 40,345 | 982 |
Buying into Romania?
Material for Romania moves by truck through Bulgaria in four to six days, DAP, with the EU safeguard quota checked before the order is confirmed. Send the list and the delivery week.
How Romania import values moved, 2021–2024
Declared import unit value by heading and year, USD per tonne
| Year | Narrow coated strip | Welded tube, circular | Welded hollow sections |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,398 | 1,177 | 878 |
| 2023 | 1,362 | 1,240 | 842 |
| 2024 | 1,203 | 1,138 | 794 |
Each column is one customs heading, each row one year, and a heading appears only if this market reported it three times or more. There is no summary column: the headings measure different products, so an average across them would be arithmetic without meaning. Isolated high cells are specialised mixes, published as declared.
Other markets
Questions about steel prices in Romania
What does steel cost in Romania?
Customs unit values put hot-rolled coil imports into Romania at 841 USD per tonne in 2024. Romania is an EU market with short land routes to Türkiye and the Balkans, which shows in the freight component rather than in the steel price.
How does steel move between Türkiye and Romania?
Three routes compete: road through Bulgaria, short sea to Constanța, and rail. Road suits smaller and urgent consignments, sea suits full loads of coil or plate, and the choice usually turns on quantity rather than distance.
Does CBAM apply to Romanian steel imports?
Yes — CBAM is an EU-wide mechanism covering iron and steel, so the reporting obligation is identical in Romania to any other member state.
What certification does construction steel need in Romania?
CE marking under EN 1090 for structural components, with the EN 10204 mill certificate behind it. As an EU market, Romania applies the harmonised European requirements rather than national ones.