Brazil produced 2.8 million mt of crude steel in May, 5.5 percent less than in May 2022, according to the country’s steel institute IABr.
Under the same comparative basis, the production of rolled products declined by 5.7 percent to 1.9 million mt, while the production of semifinished products for sale increased by 51.6 percent to 939,000 mt.
Exports increased by 12.5 percent to 1.2 million mt, while imports increased by 40.8 percent to 388,000 mt. Domestic sales declined by 6.9 percent to 1.7 million mt, while apparent consumption of steel products declined by 3.0 percent to 2.0 million mt.
Considering the first five months of 2023, the production of crude steel declined on yearly basis by 8.1 percent to 13.4 million mt, the production of rolled products declined by 8.0 percent to 9.2 million mt, the production of semifinished products for sale increased by 11.3 percent to 3.9 million mt, domestic sales declined by 4.6 percent to 8.1 million mt, apparent consumption declined by 1.3 percent to 9.6 million mt, imports increased by 35.7 percent to 1.8 million mt and exports declined by 7.0 percent to 5.1 million mt.
According to analysts, the reduced performance of the steel sector in Brazil reflects domestic prices in average more than 25 percent higher than international prices after clearing customs, resulting in increased demand for imported products, reduced incentives for exports and reduced domestic sales due to higher prices, while the stoppages of blast furnaces for revamping resulted in reduced production and higher prices.