Brazil's flat steel imports in January-September 2008 exceeded exports, the first time that has happened in roughly 20 years, Christiano Freire, president of national steel distributors association Inda told BNamericas.
In January-September, Brazil imported 809,000t of flat steel products compared to 528,000t in the same period of 2007. Freire said October imports will likely reach 200,000t, compared to 100,000t year-on-year.
"August and September were historic months for the Brazilian steel industry," Freire said. "This shows that domestic market demand was extremely heated."
Imports rose because companies such as steelmaker Usiminas wanted to ensure they could meet surging domestic demand and began importing from China. Freire said in September and October, Usiminas alone imported nearly 90,000t.
On the other hand, Brazil's steel exports decreased in spite of a relatively low price of US$600/t versus US$1,200/t six months ago.
"The market for Brazilian steel has vanished abroad," he said. "Buyers are not able to obtain letters of credit."
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