Exports of niobium ferroalloys from Brazil in March reached 8,400 mt, 52 percent more than in February, while the average FOB price went down by 2.0 percent to $22,299/mt, according to the country’s ministry of development, industry and foreign trade, MDIC.
Exports by CBMM, the world’s largest producer, went up by 55 percent to 7,600 mt, at $22,074/mt FOB, down 2.1 percent, while exports from the local arm of Anglo American went up by 25 percent to $24,559/mt.
The top destinations were Asia (up 175 percent to 4,700 mt, of which 2,600 mt went to China), Netherlands (up 12 percent to 3,000 mt), where CBMM has a distribution center, and the US (down 58 percent to 445 mt).
A source from a major slab producer told SteelOrbis that the company is paying $23,000/mt to CBMM for the product in ingots, CFR no taxes included, the same price after an 18 percent increase one month ago.
Local analysts believe that the increased volume of March reflects not only more number of working days in March, but also restocking in China and other countries in Asia, as niobium is a strategic component of steel products used in extreme applications in the aerospace, piping and civil construction industries, among others.