In May, Brazil exported 27,000 metric tons (mt) of hot-dipped galvanized products (HDG), down from 44,300 mt in April, according to Secex, the foreign trade secretariat of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
This drop was mainly due to shipments to Argentina falling to just 100 mt at $1,160/mt, compared with 37,600 mt in April.
The US was Brazil’s main destination in May, receiving 26,900 mt shipped by CSN at $886/mt.
At the same time, Brazil imported 12,500 mt of HDG in May, compared with 19,900 mt in April.
The decline was again driven by lower imports of coated flat steel products from China after Brazilian authorities imposed antidumping duties on those products in February.
HDG imports from China decreased from 7,900 mt in April to 5,000 mt in May.
In May, HDG imports came from Asia, with 12,100 mt at $654/mt, and from Europe, with 400 mt at $1,325/mt, both on an FOB basis.