The Brazilian Mining Institute reported this Wednesday, 27, that the country's mineral production fell by 9% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2021.
The sector produced 441 million tons of ore in the period compared to 483 million tons in the 1st half of last year, informed the entity.
According to Ibram, Brazilian mining companies earned BRL 113.2 billion in the first six months of the year, 24% less than the amount related to the first half of 2021, of BRL 149 billion.
In the 2nd quarter alone, the revenue of the mineral production sector was R$ 57 billion, a slight increase of 1%, compared to the 1st quarter of this year, which was R$ 56.2 billion.
Ibram president and former defense minister Raul Jungmann attributes this drop to the slowdown in China's economic activity in 2022.
The Asian country is the main importer of Brazilian iron ore, a product that represents 73% of the sector's export list.
Jungmann said that concentration points to the product's strength, but it also brings with it vulnerabilities.
Jungmann highlighted China's purposeful reduction of energy and steel production in order to improve air quality during the Winter Olympics in February this year; the coming and going of lockdowns due to outbreaks of covid-19, which also brings down economic activity and, with it, the demand for raw materials; in addition to the drop in Chinese exports to control inflation in the 2nd quarter.
According to Ibram, China's demand for steel in the 1st half of 2022 was 10% lower than the demand recorded in the 1st half of 2021.
Sources: investing.com
