Preliminary numbers from Brazilian customs authorities point to iron ore exports, including pellets, reaching 21.46 million mt in May, against 24.00 million mt in April.
Sources told SteelOrbis that the decline reflects chiefly reduced exports from Vale from its northern mines, as the port of Ponta da Madeira, in the state of Maranhao, had to halt operations for maintenance procedures, leading to a loss of 3.0 million mt of exports in May.
Quoted by the local press, Vale’s director of iron ore, Marcello Spinelli, mentioned that the company is maintaining its target of exporting between 310 million mt and 330 million mt of iron ore in 2020, despite the threats posed by the expansion of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, which has the fastest growing rate for new infections in the world.
