Brazil, the second largest exporting country after Australia, exported 34.14 MnT iron ore in Oct’15. Exports in Oct’15 are down by 4% M-o-M which was around 35.6 MnT in Sept’15. Cumulatively, the country imported 299 MnT of iron ore during Jan-Oct’15.
However, in Oct’15, exports are up by 7.4% Y-o-Y, and stood at 34.1 MnT in Oct’15 against 31.77 MnT in Oct’14.
Brazil accounts for about 25% of the global market share of iron ore’s seaborne trade volume. Brazil is home to one of the largest mining companies-Vale.
Recently, Vale has recorded a production of 88.2 MnT iron ore in Q3 2015, according to recent published quarterly result report. Production rose by 2.9 MnT against 85.7 MnT last year. Vale had produced 319 MnT of iron ore in 2014 and targets to produce 340 MnT of iron ore in 2015. The largest export destination of Brazilian iron ore is China.
Vale is producing more higher-quality iron ore and halting some of its most expensive output to navigate an oversupplied market that sent prices of the iron ore down more due to China’s economic slowdown.
The company is planning an expansion of its Carajas complex in northern Brazil, its biggest project ever, will trim costs further, allowing the producer to boost market share and offset the effect of lower prices.
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