Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) bought 100,000 mt of iron ore pellets from Karelsky Okatysh, a division of PAO Severstal, the Russian steelmaker said in a statement on Tuesday.
It was the first time CSN bought the product from the Russian supplier, and it also marks Severstal’s first shipment to Brazil.
Severstal, through Karelsky Okatysh, had already sold iron ore pellets to Trinidad and Tobago, which is part of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Severstal expects to expand its footprint into Brazil as a way to reach out to what it called as “new markets.”
"Expanding the geographical reach of our pellets deliveries, without compromising the profit margins that we earn in our focal areas, is crucial to our strategy,” said Maxim Vorobyov, CEO at Karelsky Okatysh and Olkon.
“Commencing deliveries of our products to Brazil marks an invaluable opportunity for us to gain experience and develop our entry strategy to new markets, as well as to receive feedback from new customers on the quality of our products and services,” he said.
The executive said CSN ordered low-basic fluxed pellets, which travel a long way until they reach the port of Sepetiba in Rio de Janeiro state.
“From Kostomuksha, products are dispatched to the Finnish port of Kokkola, and from there to the port of Sepetiba for unloading in Rio de Janeiro,” Severstal said.