Brazil's iron ore export volume amounted to 32.25 million mt in December 2012, decreasing one percent compared to November and down by 5.2 percent compared to the same month of 2011, according to the preliminary information released by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. However, Brazil's iron ore export value in December last year was up 6.6 percent compared to the previous month, but fell by 23.4 percent compared to the same month of 2011, totaling $2.8 billion.
In December last year, Brazil's export volume of semi-finished products of iron and steel amounted to 468,685 mt, decreasing 2.1 percent compared to the previous month and down 27.7 percent compared to the same month of 2011, while these exports were valued at $238.6 million, decreasing slightly by 0.8 percent compared to November and down 42 percent year on year.