Brazil’s steel output drops 8.6% from January to July 2023 amid rising imports from China

Brazil’s steel output experienced a drop of 8.6% from January to July 2023, amounting to 18.6 million tons, according to the country’s steel industry association, Aço Brasil.

Being a leading steel producer globally, Brazil saw a production decline of 4.7% in July compared to the same month in the previous year.

However, imports witnessed a sharp increase of 78.5% during the same period.

Data indicates that July’s steel output stood at 2.71 million tons, lower than July 2022 but marginally higher than the average for the first seven months of the year, which was 2.66 million tons.

“It’s noteworthy that even with a decrease in domestic sales, the apparent consumption has risen exclusively due to a 26.1% surge in imports,” stated Marcelo de Ávila, the entity’s Economic Superintendent.

Ávila pointed out that last month’s steel imports, which rocketed 78.5% year-on-year to 481,500 tons, were the highest in volume since July 2021.

Over half of these imports (271,100 tons) originated from China, marking the largest amount of steel Brazil has imported from the Asian nation since October 2010.

Brazil’s domestic steel sales in July dipped by 8.4% year-on-year, reaching 1.6 million tons. Meanwhile, steel exports for July also declined by around 14% from the previous year, amounting to 828,200 tons.

This decline was attributed to steel mills prioritizing the Brazilian market due to weak international prices.

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