The Brazilian steel institute, IABr, has reportedly requested a meeting with the Brazilian ministers of development and industry, Geraldo Alckmin, and of finances, Fernando Haddad, to discuss emergency measures to reduce the consistent increase of imports of steel products, which have grown by 78 percent in July on a yearly basis.
According to the institute, the Brazilian position is fragile, as the country’s import tariff for most steel products is 9.6 percent, against 25 percent in Mexico and in the US.
According to the executive president of IABr, Marco Polo Mello Lopes, the demand from the domestic market is currently weak and exports are difficult to increase, while imports remain in an uptrend, benefitted by favorable exchange rate, low international prices, and excess offer of steel products, chiefly from China.
Lopes added that the forecasts of steel imports for 2023 were updated to 4.61 million mt, while in July the forecasts were for 4.20 million mt.
Today, the penetration rate of imported steel products in the Brazilian apparent consumption ranges from 15.8 percent for CRC to 32 percent in average for HDG (hot dipped galvanized products), the later including 65.3 percent in the case of aluminum-zinc coated products.
Meanwhile, steel distributors and consumers complain that steel producers are pricing their products with a premium of 25 percent, in relation to similar imported products after clearing customs.
