Speaking on Monday, October 10, at the SteelOrbis 2022 Fall Conference & 87th IREPAS Meeting being held in Monaco on October 9-11, João Paulo Fragoso, pig iron export manager of Brazil-based Kéntron Ltda, talked about the global pig iron market pointing out that Brazil mainly exports to Central America and North America and sometimes to the EU, while Ukraine exports to the EU and sometimes to the US. He indicated that Russia, the leading player in the global pig iron market, increased its share in overall pig iron exports in the global market to 47 percent in the January-June period of the current year, from 38 percent in 2021, while Ukraine’s share in global pig iron exports in the same period decreased to 14 percent, from 31 percent last year. On the other hand, Brazil’s export share rose to 39 percent from 31 percent in the same period.
Commenting on pig iron prices, Mr. Fragoso said Brazil’s FOB-based prices spiked in April of the current year, reaching almost $1,000/mt after the war began, before going back to reality at around $500-530/mt now. According to Kéntron’s figures, Brazil’s pig iron production amounted to 480,000 mt in September, with a projection of 5.76 million mt for the full year. Approximate numbers for September show that 73 percent of Brazil’s monthly production goes to the export markets. The Kéntron official said that the increase in pig iron exports is supported by the devaluation of the Brazilian currency, weak domestic demand, and a high level of production.
Mr. Fragoso also informed conference participants about the characteristics of Brazilian pig iron production, explaining that charcoal sourced from eucalyptus trees is being used as the heat source instead of coking coal and that reforestation is being carried out, which makes the charcoal a renewable source, and also that the product is a green one as for each hectare being harvested there are other six in growth phase, capturing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.