Brazil's iron ore exports fell slightly in February from January levels, with a total of 26.262 million metric tons (MT) of iron ore recorded, down from 26.519 million tonnes recorded in January, a decline of less than 1 percent, according to Brazil's Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX), part of the Ministry of Industry, Development and Foreign Trade country.
Pellets, on the other hand, jumped nearly 11 percent to 2.222 million tonnes from 2.006 million tonnes exported in January, SECEX said.
SECEX said iron ore exports totaling 20.770 million tonnes were destined for Asia, of which 17.180 million tonnes went to China, the Middle East received 2.237 million tons, Europe received 1.666 million tons, South America received 642,400 tons, Africa received 543,500 tons, Mexico received 380,800 tons and the USA imported a total of 22,500 tons.
Exports of pellets destined for Asia amounted to 664,900 tons, Africa - 480,500 tons, USA - Iron ore exports to China have plummeted by more than 39 percent in recent months, according to SECEX. December recorded 28.203 million tonnes to 20.259 million tonnes in January. This trend reflects the proactive strategy of Chinese steel producers regarding planned maintenance shutdowns at local blast furnaces
.
