BNamericas reported that Venezuelan state steelmaker Sidor has had to start exporting the surplus of pellets it has in storage due to low levels of steel production.

A Sidor executive said that "They are pellets that are produced by direct reduction, and since steel production has been very low, it has this input left over to sell." He added that Sidor is mainly exporting the pellets to Mexico.

Sidor's hot and cold rolling plants are currently halted due to the collapse of a roof that affected operations, reducing the company's steel production.

Although it was recently reported that operations at the pellet plant are halted due to the lack of iron ore, a Sidor official told BNamericas that the stoppage at the plant was related to maintenance work

Sidor, the biggest steelmaker in Venezuela, has liquid steel capacity of 4.2 million tonnes per annum. Its pellet production capacity is 600,000 tonnes per month.

The plant is located in Bolívar state's Ciudad Guayana.

(Sourced from www.bnamericas.com)