São Paulo 11/10/2016 - Metal Bulletin - Danielle Assalve
Brazil’s unwrought aluminium exports fell in September to its lowest level in over a year, reflecting a sharp decline in shipments to Switzerland.
Exports totalled 16,740 tonnes last month, down by 47% from to 31,694 tonnes in September 2015, according to the latest figures from the country’s foreign trade ministry, MDIC.
This is the lowest level since May 2015, when Brazil exported 16,188 tonnes of unwrought aluminium.
The performance is explained by the dramatic fall in exports to Switzerland due to the lack of exports from the northern state of Pará, where Albras operates.
Brazil shipped a total of 2,042 tonnes of aluminium to Switzerland in September 2016. All volumes were sent from the south-eastern state of São Paulo, which is home to Votorantim’s CBA.
A year earlier, though, Switzerland was the destination for 13,826 tonnes of Brazil’s aluminium, which were all shipped from Pará.
Meanwhile, exports to Japan also declined in September on an annual basis, totalling 14,649 tonnes, from 17,869 tonnes the year before.
All volumes were shipped from the area where Albras operates. The company is 51% owned by Hydro, while the remaining stake is in the hands of the Japanese consortium NAAC.
NAAC’s total share in Albras production had been exported to Japan for decades due to a co-operative agreement between the governments of both countries.
Yet in 2016 the consortium has been leaving an average of 4,000 tonnes of aluminium in Brazil per month, as it had agreed to sell ingot to a domestic company, according to sources.