Venezuela to purchase 30,000 mt of billet from Gerdau

The government of Venezuela Thursday announced plans to import 30,000 metric tons of billet from Gerdau of Brazil, South America’s largest steelmaker.

Venezuela’s nationalized Sidor mill needs the semi-finished steel to compensate for offline smelters, which were shut down in the midst of the country’s current electricity crisis. Drought conditions have severely affected the Venezuela’s hydroelectric dams, which provide most of the nation’s electricity.