Brazilian miner Vale shipped a larger proportion of its iron ore products to China at the expense of Europe and other Asian customers in April, according to trade data.
This comes as Vale's volumes recovered compared with earlier in the year.
Vale shipped 17.759 million mt of iron ore from Brazil in April, 52% higher than its monthly average in the first quarter of 2020, according to data compiled by Panjiva, a unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Vale is the biggest iron ore exporter in Brazil, accounting for 78% of April's total iron ore export volumes from South America's biggest economy.
Some 95% of Vale's Brazil iron ore exports went to Asia in April. Vale's volumes heading to China in April almost doubled compared with March, exceeding 12 million mt after totaling 6.66 million mt in March.
Vale's April exports were 45.5% higher than in April 2019, when shipments from southern Brazil started to slowly recover after safety checks were imposed after the Brumadinho dam disaster.
"Vale's exports of iron ore climbed 45.5% in April as the result of a 230.1% surge in shipments to China. Again, though, that has come from a low base," Panjiva said in a June 9 report.
Several Vale mines were idled for the decommissioning of upstream tailings dams, in a three-year program to expedite work that has left several still closed.
The latest disruption at Vale's mines, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic at its Itabira complex in Minas Gerais, may be partly limited due to the complex's focus on pellet feed and concentrate ore, according to market sources.
Demand for pellets in contract markets is generally low in both the blast furnace and direct reduction (DR) segments due to weak steel prices and margins, which has left Vale with unused pelletizing capacity.
Itabira may be temporarily idled until there is more clarity around the testing regime for the novel coronavirus in and around the region.
There is no concern about third-quarter pellet supply availability from Vale, a source said.
Any production lost at Itabira over such a short time may not be related to demand and supply for iron ore products and benchmark fines sold into China, said a buyer.
