Brazil's Iron Ore Exports Crashed 10% in September

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The most recent import trade statistics released by the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX) under the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (MDIC) of Brazil indicates modest decline in iron ore export volumes by the country during September 2017 over the previous year.

Brazil exported 31.934 million tonnes of iron ore during the month of September this year. The monthly export volumes plunged by 9.6% when matched with the corresponding month a year before. Brazil’s iron ore exports had totaled 35.329 million tonnes in September last year. The total exports were valued at $1.608 billion, higher by 13.2% year-over-year. The average export price surged higher by more than 25% from $40.20 per tonne in September 2016 to $50.36 per tonne in September this year.

The top three export destinations of ore exported from Brazil during the month were China, Japan and Malaysia. The combined imports by these three countries accounted for nearly 66% of the total monthly ore exports by Brazil during the month. The top export destination, China, imported 16.49 million tonnes of iron ore from Brazil, accounting for almost 52% of the total Brazilian exports. The ore exports to China averaged at $48.84 per tonne. In second place was Japan with imports of 2.811 million tonnes. Malaysia imported 1.861 million tonnes of the steel making raw material. The other key importers during the month were Portugal (1.565 million tonnes), South Korea (1.451 million tonnes) and Oman (1.172 million tonnes).

The exports of non-agglomerated ore totaled 29.070 million tonnes in September this year. The exports were down modestly by nearly 11% when matched with the year ago month. The value of non-agglomerated ore exports totaled $1.366 billion. The export prices averaged at $46.98 per tonne, significantly higher by 24.2% when compared with $37.84 per tonne in September last year.

The top importer of non-agglomerated ore from Brazil during the month was China. The Chinese imports from Brazil totaled 16.296 million tonnes, followed by Japan and Malaysia with imports of 2.344 million tonnes and 1.861 million tonnes respectively. Portugal (1.565 million tonnes), South Korea (1.209 million tonnes) and Oman (1.172 million tonnes) were the other key export destinations.

Agglomerated ore exports by Brazil totaled 2.864 million tonnes, modestly higher by 4.7% upon comparison with the previous year. The net value of exports amounted to $242.6 million. The agglomerated ore exports averaged at $84.69 per tonne in September.

Japan was the primary importer of agglomerated ore from Brazil. The exports to Japan from Brazil totaled 467,000 tonnes during the month. Egypt (436,000 tonnes) and South Korea (242,000 tonnes) were the other key export destinations.