According to the Brazil Steel Institute (IABr), Brazilian crude steel production in April this year amounted to 2.89 million metric tons, with a 25.9 percent increase year on year. In the same month, Brazilian rolled steel output rose 15.2 percent to 1.88 million metric tons compared to the same month of 2016.
Meanwhile, Brazilian steelmakers produced 11.14 million metric tons of crude steel in the first four months of this year, up 14.5 percent year on year. Brazil's rolled steel product output totaled 7.3 million mt in the given period, up 8.9 percent year on year.
Brazilian domestic steel sales decreased by 12.8 percent year on year in April to 1.2 million metric tons, while domestic sales in the first four months of this year totaled 5.17 million metric tons, decreasing by 3.6 percent year on year.
Brazil's exports of steel products in April amounted to 826,000 metric tons, falling by 18.4 percent, with a value of $457 million, up 19.3 percent, both on year-on-year basis. Steel product exports in the January-April period of this year totaled 4.65 million mt, worth $2.31 billion, with an increase of 8.9 percent in volume and a rise of 46.8 percent in value compared to the same period of last year.
Meanwhile, the country's steel import volume in April this year amounted to 153,000 metric tons, increasing 36.6 percent, with a value of $152 million, up 20.6 percent, both year on year. Brazil’s total steel imports in the first four months of this year came to 790,000 metric tons, representing a 64.6 percent increase in volume from the first four months of the previous year, while the value of these imports in the given period totaled $676 million, rising by 33.6 percent year on year.