According to the data from the foreign trade ministry, Brazil's imports of flat steel products dropped by 38.7% YoY to 149,990 tonnes in July 2012.
In fact, the most Latin American countries' imports dropped significantly due to the Brazilian currency depreciation, high inventories in the domestic markets and ongoing investigations in Brazil.
Imports from China dropped to 68,869 tonnes from 97,032 tonnes same period last year while imports from South Korea dropped to 15,102 tonnes from 24,986 tonnes.
In July 2012, the country's imports of steel flat products also dropped by 13.6% MoM from June 2012 of 173,758 tonnes.
In those imports, the biggest decline was the heavy plates but galvanized coil rose from the same period last year.
Source: YIEH