Brazilian iron ore exports fall by 28% in May YoY

In May, Brazil exported 21.5 million tonnes of iron ore, a 28% drop when compared to the same month last year, according to government data.  Brazilian iron ore shipments fell more than 10% when compared to April of this year, making it almost the lowest amount of this year. The lowest amount was shipped in March at 21.2 million tons.  During the first five months of 2020, iron ore shipments from Brazil reached 115.3 million tons, marking a 13.3% drop when compared to the same period of 2019.

It is worth noting that the mining company Vale is still working to recover part of their production which was paralyzed after the Brumadinho (MG) disaster in 2019.  It is also worth noting that, in mid-April, Vale announced that it had reduced this year’s iron ore production target to between 310-330 million tons, from the initial goal of 340-355 million tons, due to a lower than expected result during the first quarter. Another reason for this change was the delays in resuming production at mines and other impacts caused by the new coronavirus.

According to Vale, the pandemic delayed inspections, evaluations, and authorizations for the resumption of operations in some mines. Recently, however, the company stated that the pandemic had no material impact on production and that it has followed all safety procedures.

Source: Reuters

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