Brazil increased iron ore exports by 6.1% y/y in the first half of the year

Mining companies in Brazil increased iron ore exports by 6.1% in January-June 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, to 179.4 million tons. Kallanish reports this with reference to data from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (Mdic).

The value of exports during this period amounted to about $15.4 billion, which is 12.2% more than in January-June 2023. The main export destination was China – 65% of the total supply. Malaysia consumed 5.6% of Brazilian iron ore, and Oman 3.6%.

In June, Brazil exported 33.2 million tons of iron ore, up 1.2% compared to May and 3% less by June 2023. Export revenue amounted to $2.6 billion, up 8.3% m/m and 5.5% y/y.

It should be noted that in 2023, Brazil increased its iron ore exports by 10% compared to 2022, to 380.5 million tons. The largest consumers of iron ore are China – 260.9 million tons (+9% y/y), Malaysia – 21.1 million tons (+16% y/y), and Japan – 13.7 million tons (+18% y/y).

As GMK Center reported earlier, global iron ore exports in January-June 2024 increased by 5% compared to the same period in 2023 to 751 million tons. The leading exporter of raw materials is Australia – 427 million tons (+2% y/y). Brazil ranks second in terms of exports.

Global steel production in January-May 2024 decreased by 0.1% compared to the same period in 2023 to 793.2 million tons. In the CIS+Ukraine region, the figure increased by 0.1% y/y – to 36.7 million tons. In particular, Ukraine increased steel production by 31.2% y/y over 5 months to 3.14 million tons.