According to the statistics provided by Brazil's National Union of the Industry of Extraction of Iron and Base Metals (Sinferbase), in June this year Brazil's iron ore exports amounted to 23.6 million metric tons, falling by 5.6 percent year on year and down 26.25 percent compared to May this year.
In the first half of 2012, Brazilian iron ore exports remained unchanged year on year with a total of 135.9 million metric tons. Major domestic miner Vale's share in Brazil's total iron ore exports in the first six months of this year reached 89.7 percent, amounting to 121.9 million metric tons, down slightly by 0.3 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2011.
Brazilian iron ore pellet exports in June this year amounted to 4.8 million metric tons, rising by 7.1 percent year on year, while in the first half of the year Brazil's iron ore pellet exports fell to 25.6 million mt, down 4.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Brazil's total iron ore and pellet sales to its domestic market amounted to 14.5 milion mt in the first half of this year, decreasing 8.9 percent compared to the first half of 2011.