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According to a study carried out by Sindicel, the Sao Paulo based non-ferrous metals association, Brazil's per capita copper consumption rose by 50% in 2002-2008 to 2.1 kg. Copper usage has grown 30% higher than the GDP growth in the same period. Sindicel's president Sergio Aredes said that the significant rise in copper usage reflects the growth in construction and high-tech products in the Brazilian economy. The association also announced that copper semis production in 2008 generated US$4.0B in revenues. Robust demand in 2008 was supported by strong consumption in the construction, energy, automotive, mining and steel sectors. But Sindicel anticipates that sales in 2009 will decline (construction by 15%, infrastructure by 19% and telecommunication wire and cable by 10%).

According to the Brazilian electric conductor and non-ferrous metals association Sindicel, Brazil's copper products' trade deficit soared by 135% to US$375M in 2010. It was reported that imports reached US$944M, up by 55.7% from the previous year. Exports rose by 27.5% to US$570M in 2010. Sindicel added that copper products trade has seen consecutive deficits since 2008. The association anticipates that import growth will outperform export growth in the current year, partly due to the depreciation of the US dollar against the Brazilian real.

Sindicel, an association for the Brazilian non-ferrous metals consumption industry, released figures indicating that Brazil's semi-fabricated copper product output was down by 2.6% y-o-y, reaching 396,900t (copper content) in 2011. Wirerod production accounted for 237,000t in 2011, up by 1.2% y-o-y, whereas brass mill output by copper content was 133,500t in 2011, down by 10.2% y-o-y. Capacity increases in both the wirerod and brass mill product sectors resulted in utilisation rates of 47% and 66%, respectively in 2011. These were down on the production capacity utilisation rates of the respective sectors in Brazil in 2010, which were 52% and 77%.

Sindicel and ABC reported that increasing domestic demand for non-ferrous metal products boosted semis output in 2010. Production of aluminium and copper electric conductors advanced by an average 14% in 2010, while semis output grew by 10%. The association said that the upturn in 2010 was supported by Brazil's civil construction sector, followed by the automotive, energy transmission, oil and gas, and mining industries.

According to the Sao Paolo based electric conductors and non-ferrous metals association Sindicel, the copper semis industry in Brazil has been challenged by high production costs. As a result of sharp fluctuations, the industry has not been able to fully pass on to clients the rise in raw materials prices. Over the past few months, copper prices advanced by 30% whilst Brazilian copper product prices increased only by 12-13%. Therefore, the copper semis sector is realising tighter margins.

Copper theft increased 11% in Brazil in 2007 reaching 840 tons.

Sindicel, the Brazilian electric conductors and non-ferrous metals association, expects sales of copper and copper alloy wire, cable and semis to rise by 10% y-o-y in 2011. Domestic production is also predicted to increase by 10% y-o-y in the same period. The sector's output and sales has been boosted by demand from the automotive, construction and telecommunications industries. In addition, a poll of Brazilian copper products producers revealed that half were operating above 80% capacity utilisation. Ibram, the national mining association, also reported that wire and cable production will grow by 39% by 2016. This will be primarily driven by the construction industry due to events such as the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics and also government programs. According to Ibram, Brazilian output of copper products was 230,000t in 2010 and is anticipated to grow to 475,000t by 2014.