Scrap metal prices per kg in Brazil
| Scrap type | Price (BRL) | Change | Global reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-ferrous (per kg) | |||
| Copper Scrap | R$59.23 / kg | ▲ +2.30% | $5.78 / lb |
| Aluminum Scrap | R$8.30 / kg | ▲ +1.25% | $0.81 / lb |
| Brass Scrap | R$35.87 / kg | ▲ +1.45% | $3.50 / lb |
| Stainless Steel Scrap | R$5.84 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.57 / lb |
| Lead Scrap | R$6.05 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.59 / lb |
| Zinc Scrap | R$9.22 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.90 / lb |
| Battery Scrap | R$2.36 / kg | ▲ +0.00% | $0.23 / lb |
| Radiator Scrap | R$34.02 / kg | ▲ +2.15% | $3.32 / lb |
| Wire Scrap | R$28.59 / kg | ▲ +2.20% | $2.79 / lb |
| Cable Scrap | R$19.06 / kg | ▲ +2.20% | $1.86 / lb |
| Electronic Scrap | R$8.20 / kg | ▲ +2.56% | $0.80 / lb |
| Ferrous and bulk (per tonne) | |||
| Steel Scrap | R$1,537 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $300 / ton |
| Iron Scrap | R$1,353 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $264 / ton |
| Car Scrap | R$1,844 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $360 / ton |
| Cast Iron | R$1,476 / tonne | ▲ +0.00% | $288 / ton |
Indicative dealer prices for clean, sorted scrap. Global reference is the US board in US dollars; the Brazil figure applies the exchange rate (1 USD = 5.22 BRL) and a local market factor of 0.89.
Yards quote in reais per kilogram. Prices here are derived from the exchange settlement, converted to reais, and adjusted by a market factor of 0.89, our assessment of a large domestic market with real mill demand but several handling layers between a collector and a furnace. That factor is published on the editorial policy page and is open to challenge. Aluminium deserves a note of its own: the arrival of the aluminium can in Brazil in the late 1980s is what turned street collection into an organised trade, and can collection remains the most efficient part of the chain rather than an afterthought.
Brazil scrap price chart (BRL)
Daily open, high, low and close for the most traded scrap metals in BRL per kg or per tonne. Scroll to zoom and drag to move along the timeline.
Price history could not be loaded.
- Current Price
- Daily Change
- Weekly Change
- Monthly Change
- Yearly Change
Copper scrap prices by grade in Brazil
Copper is not one price. Yards grade it by cleanliness, coating and gauge, and the spread from the top grade to the bottom runs 25 to 35 percent. These are the same grades used on export contracts, converted to BRL.
The scrap market in Brazil
Everywhere else on this site the regulated party is the buyer. Brazil regulates from the other end. The catador, the person who collects recyclable material from streets, buildings and dumps, has been a recognised occupation in the national classification since 2002 under code 5192-05, defined explicitly to include ferrous and non-ferrous metal and to cover people working alone as well as in cooperatives. Official statistics count more than 281,000 catadores; the national movement that represents them, the MNCR, founded in 2001, puts the real figure far higher because much of the work is unregistered.
That recognition has legal consequences. A presidential decree in 2006 directed the recyclable material generated in federal public buildings to catador cooperatives. A 2007 sanitation law let municipalities contract those cooperatives directly rather than putting the work out to tender. The National Solid Waste Policy of 2010, Law 12,305, then set the framework for the whole system, introducing extended producer responsibility and reverse logistics obligations while giving cooperatives priority over private companies in the waste infrastructure. Between the catador and the mill sits the ferro velho, the yard that buys from collectors and consolidates upward, and that is the layer an ordinary seller actually deals with.
- Currency
- Brazilian real (BRL)
- Units
- Kilogram
- Market factor
- 0.89 (our assessment, published on the editorial policy page)
- Occupation code
- Catador de material reciclavel, CBO 5192-05, recognised since 2002
- Local terms
- Sucata for scrap, ferro velho for the yard, catador for the collector
The most valuable scrap by weight in Brazil today: Copper at R$59.23 per kg, Brass at R$35.87 per kg, Radiator at R$34.02 per kg, Wire at R$28.59 per kg, Cable at R$19.06 per kg.
How much is scrap metal worth in Brazil?
Scrap metal in Brazil is bought per kilogram and quoted in BRL. Typical ranges are Copper: R$ 52 to R$ 66 per kg; Brass: R$ 32 to R$ 40 per kg; Aluminium: R$ 7.3 to R$ 9.3 per kg; Zinc: R$ 8.1 to R$ 10.3 per kg; Lead: R$ 5.3 to R$ 6.8 per kg; Stainless steel: R$ 5.1 to R$ 6.5 per kg. Across common non-ferrous grades that puts most material between R$ 5.1 and R$ 66 per kg, with copper at the top of the range and stainless steel near the bottom.
These are ranges rather than quotes. The band reflects day-to-day movement in the metal market and the spread between one yard and another, which our own research has found can reach 40 percent or more for the same metal in the same city. The midpoint is derived from the international exchange settlement converted to BRL and adjusted by our published market factor of 0.89. Expect a local buyer to sit toward the lower end, because they carry collection, sorting, processing and their own margin. Always confirm the rate per kilo for your specific grade before anything is weighed.
- Copper: R$ 52 to R$ 66 per kg
- Brass: R$ 32 to R$ 40 per kg
- Aluminium: R$ 7.3 to R$ 9.3 per kg
- Zinc: R$ 8.1 to R$ 10.3 per kg
- Lead: R$ 5.3 to R$ 6.8 per kg
- Stainless steel: R$ 5.1 to R$ 6.5 per kg
The domestic premium, and why it shelters you
The Brazilian market maintains a premium that rewards domestic recycling, and the practical effect for a seller is protection from extreme currency swings. When the real moves sharply, a market priced purely off international benchmarks passes that straight through. A market with a domestic premium absorbs some of it.
That stability has had a second-order effect. Tariff predictability has allowed national mills to resume long-term investment and to plan plant modernisation, which gives the whole ferrous supply chain more visibility than it would otherwise have.
The buyers behind that are large and specialised differently. Gerdau leads recycling in Latin America with a focus on operational profitability. ArcelorMittal has been expanding capacity to serve high-value automotive work. CSN and Usiminas have been repairing balance sheets and modernising production routes. The spread between scrap cost and steel price has supported stable cash flows across the group.
For a seller the useful read is that Brazilian demand for ferrous is anchored domestically rather than dependent on export arbitrage. That generally means fewer violent price swings than in markets where the only real buyer is overseas, and it also means the local mill cycle matters more to your price than the international one does.
Selling scrap metal in Brazil: rules, ID and payment
There is no scrap dealer licence. What documents a transaction is the Nota Fiscal Eletronica, Brazil's electronic invoice, which is tied to the tax system, hard to forge, and records the buyer, the seller, the material, the quantity and the price. It is used well beyond tax collection: schemes that verify cooperative recycling activity have been built on those invoices precisely because they are difficult to fabricate. For a household seller the practical points are ordinary. Separate metals before selling, because a mixed load is paid at the lower rate. Deal with a ferro velho that has premises. If you are selling regularly or in volume, expect and ask for the invoice, because a buyer who cannot issue one is operating outside the system that everything else here depends on.
Before you sell
- Separate ferrous from non-ferrous, and keep aluminium apart from both. Aluminium is where the organised end of this trade began and where the density of value is highest.
- Sell to a ferro velho with a fixed location rather than to a passing buyer, and ask for the Nota Fiscal for anything beyond a household quantity.
- If you generate recyclable material as a business or institution, look at whether a catador cooperative can take it; the framework favours them and it is often the simpler route.
- Do not buy or sell material taken from public infrastructure, whatever the price offered.
- For real tonnage, ask who the buyer sells to. Each layer between you and a mill takes a margin.
Scrap prices by city in Brazil
City pages carry local yard prices and directories for the main scrap markets. Pages that are not live yet are shown without a link.
Scrap yards in Brazil
Find a yard by region or city, or use your location to see the nearest. Every listing shows where its details came from and when they were checked.
Yard listings for Brazil are being added from official dealer registers and trade directories. Nothing is published until it has been verified against a named source, which is why this section is not yet populated.
Brazil scrap price FAQ
What is a catador?
A person who collects, sorts and sells recyclable material, and in Brazil a legally recognised occupation. The national occupational classification has carried the category catador de material reciclavel under code 5192-05 since 2002, and the definition explicitly covers ferrous and non-ferrous metal as well as paper, card and glass.
What is a ferro velho?
The yard that buys from collectors and consolidates material upward toward the mills. It is the layer an ordinary seller deals with, and the equivalent of a chatarrera in Mexico or a junk shop in the Philippines.
Do I need a licence to sell scrap in Brazil?
No, and neither does the yard in the sense of a scrap dealer licence. What matters is the Nota Fiscal Eletronica, the electronic invoice tied to the tax system, which records buyer, seller, material, quantity and price for a transaction.
Why do cooperatives matter in the Brazilian scrap system?
Because the law gives them priority. A 2006 presidential decree directed recyclables from federal public buildings to catador cooperatives, a 2007 law allowed municipalities to contract them directly without tender, and the 2010 National Solid Waste Policy gave cooperatives priority over private companies in the waste infrastructure.
How many waste pickers are there in Brazil?
Official statistics count more than 281,000 people collecting recyclables, individually or through cooperatives and associations. The national movement representing them considers the true figure much higher, since a large share of the work is informal and unregistered.
Why is aluminium so important here?
Because it is what organised the trade. The arrival of the aluminium can in Brazil in the late 1980s gave street collection a high-value, high-volume material and pushed collectors toward forming associations and cooperatives to cut out middlemen. Can collection remains the most efficient part of the chain.
Should I ask for a Nota Fiscal when selling scrap?
For anything beyond a household quantity, yes. The electronic invoice is tied to the tax system and difficult to forge, which is why it has been used to verify recycling activity rather than only to collect tax. A buyer who cannot issue one is outside the system everything else depends on.
Why is the Brazilian price below the international reference?
The margins, not the demand. Brazil has substantial domestic steelmaking and a developed non-ferrous market. What separates a street collector from the furnace price is the number of hands the material passes through, each taking a share.
Sources and methodology
Prices on this page start from the global reference board (US dollars per pound or per ton), are multiplied by a Brazil market factor of 0.89 that reflects local demand, freight and trade rules, and are converted to BRL at 1 USD = 5.22 and to metric units (kilograms and tonnes). The board refreshes daily, with the time of the latest update shown at the top of the page.
Reference sources
- Law 12,305 of 2 August 2010, the National Solid Waste Policy
- Brazilian Classification of Occupations, code 5192-05, and WIEGO statistical work on Brazilian waste pickers
- Presidential Decree 5,940 of 2006 and Law 11,445 of 2007 on cooperative access and direct contracting
- Reporting on the Nota Fiscal Eletronica as a verification instrument for recyclable material transactions
Prices are indicative and for information only; they are not offers to buy or sell. Actual yard prices depend on grade, quantity, location and the buyer. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will check it against our sources.