According to the statistics provided by Brazil's National Union of the Industry of Extraction of Iron and Base Metals (Sinferbase), in April this year Brazil's iron ore exports amounted to 19 million metric tons, falling by 20 percent year on year and down 37 percent compared to March this year.
Brazil's total iron ore and pellet sales to its domestic market amounted to 2.5 milion mt in April this year, decreasing 8.7 percent compared to April 2011, while in the first four months domestic sales fell by 2.8 percent year on year to 10.1 million mt.
In the first four months of 2012, Brazilian iron ore exports fell by 10.7 percent year on year, decreasing to 79 million metric tons. Major domestic miner Vale's share in Brazil's total iron ore exports in the first four months of this year reached 89.8 percent, amounting to 71 million metric tons, down 11 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2011.
Meanwhile, Brazilian iron ore pellet exports in April this year amounted to 4.4 million metric tons, falling by 1.3 percent year on year, while in the first four months of the year Brazil's iron ore pellet exports fell to 16.4 million mt, down 9.5 percent compared to the same period last year.