According to the latest data released by the Brazilian Institute of Non-ferrous Metals (ICZ), the country's nickel production which was 3,553 mt in April last year amounted to 5,148 mt in April this year, down 20.9 percent compared to March. In the first four months of this year, Brazilian nickel output totaled 22,779 mt, up 75.4 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the January-April period of this year, Brazil exported 63.3 percent of its total nickel output, while the country's nickel exports more than doubled compared to the first four months of 2011, totaling 14,414 mt.
Meanwhile, in the first four months of the current year nickel sales to the Brazilian domestic market including imports amounted to 6,653 mt, falling slightly by 0.5 percent compared to January-April 2011.