Brazil's iron ore exports tumbled 11% in December

By Paul Ploumis

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The country's iron ore exports increased sharply during the month of December this year, says latest statistics released by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (MDIC) of Brazil.

Brazil’s iron ore exports totaled 35.117 million tons during the month. This is lower by 11.1% when matched with the exports during the corresponding month the year before. The country had exported 39.508 million tons of iron ore during December 2015. However, the total value of exports by the country has increased sharply by nearly 39% over the year from $1.275 billion in December 2015 to $1.769 billion in December last year. The average export price too has surged higher significantly by 56.1% year-on-year to $50.4 per ton FOB in December 2016. The Brazilian iron ore exports had averaged at $32.3 per ton FOB in December 2015.

The largest importer of iron ore from Brazil during the month was China. The imports by China totaled 21.245 million tons, valued at $997.4 million. The export prices averaged at $46.90 per ton. Brazil exported 2.085 million tons of iron ore to Japan during the month. The Japanese imports from Brazil were valued at $113.869 million. The average price of export stood at $54.6 per ton. In third place was Malaysia with 1.855 million tons. The total value of imports by the country amounted to $87.231 million. The imports of Brazilian ore by Malaysia averaged at $47.0 per ton during December last year. The other key importers of iron ore from Brazil were the Netherlands (1.724 million tons), Oman (759,000 tons), France (670,000 tons) and Taiwan (660,000 tons).

The exports of agglomerated iron ore during December ’16 totaled 2.929 million tons, significantly down by 53.4% when compared with the same month a year before. The Brazilian agglomerated iron ore exports had totaled 6.290 million tons during December 2015. The value of exports amounted to $224.949 million during Nov ‘16. The export value has dropped considerably by nearly 42% when compared with the previous year. The Brazilian agglomerated iron ore exports were valued at $387.993 million during December 2015. The export prices of agglomerated ore saw considerable increase of 24.5% over the year. The average export price edged higher from $61.70 per ton in Dec ‘15 to $76.8 per ton in Dec ‘16.

The largest importer of agglomerated iron ore from Brazil was Egypt. The imports by the country totaled 560,000 tons. The value of iron ore imports by Egypt totaled $47.164 million. The exports averaged at $75.0 per ton. The other key importers of Brazilian iron ore during the month were the Netherlands (560,000 tons), the USA (368,000 tons), Germany (229,000 tons) and Japan (224,000 tons).

The exports of non agglomerated iron ore totaled 32.188 million tons, accounting for nearly 92% of the total exports. The non-agglomerated iron ore exports by the country declined marginally by 3.1% when matched with 33.218 million tons exported during December 2015. The value of non-agglomerated iron ore exports has increased sharply by nearly 74% year-on-year to $1.544 billion from $886.882 million a year before.

The country exported non-agglomerated iron ore mainly to China. The Chinese imports from Brazil totaled 21.245 million tons at an average price of $46.9 per ton. The value of iron ore imports by China totaled $997.354 million. The other primary importers of non-agglomerated iron ore from Brazil during December last year were Japan (1.861 million tons), Malaysia (1.855 million tons) and the Netherlands (1.164 million tons).