Brazil exported in December 10,300 mt of plates with more than 10mm in thickness, 162 percent more than in November, according to the country’s ministry of development, industry and foreign trade, MDIC.
Most of the tonnage, 8,300 mt, went to the US, against a non-relevant volume in November, while 2,000 mt were shipped to South American countries, of which 1,800 mt to Argentina. The average FOB export price increased by 55 percent to $508/mt, pointing to exports to the US at $461/mt and exports to South America at $701/mt.
During 2015, Brazil exported 69,300 mt of heavy plates, against 194,600 mt in 2014.
A distributor in Rio de Janeiro told SteelOrbis that he is selling heavy plates at BRL3,045/mt ($756/mt), FOB, full taxes except IPI, following a recent 5 percent price increase. He added that sales of higher tonnages could be closed at lower prices, but this is a remote possibility, given the current low demand from most of the country’s industrial sectors.
Meanwhile, Brazil imported only 500 mt of heavy plates in December, despite having imported 141,200 mt of the product for the whole of 2015. The volume imported in 2015 reflects chiefly 118,700 mt of a special grade plate, not produced in Brazil, imported from Austria by Confab, a pipe producer linked to the Tenaris group. Such imports were used by Confab in a pipeline project concluded in July 2015.
1 USD = BRL 4.03 (January 12)