According to the Brazil Steel Institute (IABr), Brazilian crude steel production in the first quarter of the current year amounted to 8.32 million metric tons, 1.5 percent higher year on year. In the same period, Brazilian rolled steel output increased by 1.9 percent to 6.31 million metric tons, including 3.52 million metric tons of flat products - down 2.4 percent, and 2.79 million metric tons of long products - up 7.9 percent, all on year-on-year basis.
Meanwhile, Brazilian steelmakers produced 2.98 million metric tons of crude steel in March of the current year, up 14.1 percent from February and up 4.5 percent year on year. Brazil's rolled steel product output totaled 2.27 million mt in March, increasing by 14.2 percent month on month and up three percent year on year. Of this total, the country's flat steel output stood at 1.27 million mt, increasing by 16.7 month on month and down 0.1 percent year on year, while Brazil's long steel output amounted to 1 million metric tons, increasing by 11.1 percent month on month and up 7.3 percent compared to March 2013.
Brazilian domestic steel sales decreased by 0.9 percent year on year in March this year to 1.93 million metric tons, while domestic sales in the first quarter totaled 5.48 million metric tons, increasing by 1.8 percent year on year.
Brazil's exports of steel products in March amounted to 563,400 metric tons, falling by 21.6 percent, and worth US$422.5 million, down 10.9 percent, both compared to March 2013. Steel product exports in the first quarter this year totaled 2 million mt, worth US$1.45 billion, with decreases of 19.1 percent in volume and 6.8 percent in value compared to the corresponding period of 2013.
Meanwhile, the country's steel import volume in March increased by 16.2 percent year on year to 315,400 metric tons (US$343.1million), while total steel imports in the first quarter amounted to 876,800 metric tons (US$971.2 million), representing a 3.8 percent increase in volume from the same period last year.