The Brazil Steel Institute's (IABr) Board of Directors met Tuesday with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to assess the prospects of the country's steelmaking sector.
The IABr told President Lula that although Brazilian steel industry as being among the hardest hit by the effects of global economic crisis, it did, however, show systematic recovery throughout 2009, due largely by anti-crisis initiatives of the government which included tax relief for major steel consuming sectors along with measures to boost consumption. Together, these initiatives helped strengthen the market.
The Institute predicts this year's steel consumption in Brazil will grow 23.3 percent compared to 2009, to 22.9 million metric tons, while exports are estimated at 11 million mt (+23.4 percent), thereby supporting an expected increase of 25.1 percent in crude steel production to 33.2 million mt.
IABr, President Flavio Azevedo said he feels optimistic about their recovery, especially with the growing number of national construction projects currently underway, including a government sponsored program which aims to build one million properties for low income Brazilians.
The IABr estimates that the additional demand for steel products generated by these programs will reach 8 million tons in the period 2010 to 2016. Currently, Brazil's production capacity is 103 percent higher than domestic demand, which will allow the industry to meet its expected increased internal demand, as well as continued export business.