According to the statistics provided by Brazil's National Union of the Industry of Extraction of Iron and Base Metals (Sinferbase), in May this year Brazil's iron ore exports amounted to 32 million metric tons, rising by 43 percent year on year and up 68.8 percent compared to April this year.
Brazil's total iron ore and pellet sales to its domestic market amounted to 2.36 milion mt in May this year, decreasing 17.8 percent compared to May 2011, while in the first five months domestic sales fell by six percent year on year to 12.5 million mt.
In the first five months of 2012, Brazilian iron ore exports rose by 1.2 percent year on year to 112 million metric tons. Major domestic miner Vale's share in Brazil's total iron ore exports in the first five months of this year reached 89.6 percent, amounting to 100.6 million metric tons, up 0.8 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2011.
Meanwhile, Brazilian iron ore pellet exports in May this year amounted to 4.4 million metric tons, rising by 5.6 percent year on year, while in the first five months of the year Brazil's iron ore pellet exports fell to 20.8 million mt, down 6.7 percent compared to the same period last year.