According to the statistics provided by Brazil's National Union of the Industry of Extraction of Iron and Base Metals (Sinferbase), in March this year Brazil's iron ore exports amounted to 30.1 million metric tons, rising by 33.7 percent year on year and up 81.3 percent compared to February this year.
In the first quarter of 2012, Brazilian iron ore exports fell by 7.3 percent year on year, decreasing to 60.1 million metric tons. Major domestic miner Vale's share in Brazil's total iron ore exports in the first three months of this year reached 90.8 percent, amounting to 54.6 million metric tons, down 6.4 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2011.
Meanwhile, Brazilian iron ore pellet exports in March this year amounted to 4.8 million metric tons, falling by 3.4 percent year on year, while in the first quarter of the year Brazil's iron ore pellet exports rose to 12 million mt, up 70 percent compared to the same period last year.