During the ceremony of the reinauguration of its blast furnace number 3, this week, the CEO of Usiminas, Marcelo Chara, was quoted by the local press as saying that the company could shut its blast furnace number 2, as an alternative to face the reduced domestic demand for flat steel products.
Chara reportedly mentioned that if the import tax, in Brazil, for steel produced in China is not increased by 25 percent, “we will have to align the production structure to the market conditions.”
The Brazilian steel industry claims that steel imports from China are made at dumping prices.
The blast furnace number 2 has a 600,000 mt of yearly production capacity, the same as the blast furnace number one, which was shut in December. With both blast furnaces idled, Usiminas would count only on the blast furnace number 3, with a capacity of 3.0 million mt per year.
In 2023, Brazil imported from China 2.37 million mt of steel products, against 1.41 million mt in 2022.