RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Steel mills produced 18 million tons of crude steel in Brazil’s first half of this year. This volume was 24% higher than the one manufactured from January to June 2020.
Last month, the rise in steel production was 45.2%, reaching 3.12 million tons. The data was released on Thursday (22) by the Brazil Steel Institute.
Domestic sales for the semester totaled 12 million tons, an evolution of 43.9%. In June, the sales of steel products grew 32.8%, from 1.57 million tons to 2.08 million tons last month.
According to data from Aço Brasil, apparent consumption showed a “substantial” leap in the first semester. The indicator rose 48.9% from 9.42 million tons to 14.03 million tons this year. In June, the evolution also surpassed the 40% level. Apparent consumption increased 41.1% and reached 2.48 million tons.
Marco Polo de Mello Lopes, CEO of Brazil Steel, said that apparent consumption in the semester was the highest since 2014.
Imports also continue at full steam. According to Brazil Steel, steel purchases abroad totaled 1.94 million tons, an evolution of 93.8% in the period. The participation of imported products in the apparent consumption in the semester corresponded to 13.8%.
“Imports are opportunistic, not structural. We do not believe they can exceed the historical levels of 12% to 13%,” said Marco Faraco, president of the board of Brazil Steel.