Speaking in a conference about the results of the Brazilian miner Vale in 2023, Marcelo Spinelli, VP of the company for the iron ore solutions area, mentioned that the company has plans to increase sales to regions outside China.
He mentioned Japan, Europe, India and Southeast Asia as main targets. In his view, the iron ore market is currently tight, with increased demand and reduced supply, as the offer from Australia is stable and India is focused on its own domestic market, while Brazil is the only alternative for increased supply.
In 2023, Brazil exported 353.13 million mt of iron ore, pellets excluded, of which 259,38 million mt were destined to China.
The exports of pellets in 2023 totaled 25.00 million mt, of which 680,800 mt were destined to China.
Spinelli mentioned that there are perspectives for the increase of the premium of pellets, due to higher demand from the Middle East and from the US, while in Japan and Europe he sees a potential for the recovery of demand.