Trade with China seeing rapid growth

Wu Bangguo (right), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, meets with Brazilian Vice-President Jose Alencar during his visit to Brazil on August 30, 2006.

The year 2006 can be described as a consolidation year for trade relations between Brazil and China.

Brazil's perspectives on trade exchange with China remain positive. Trade flow between the countries exceeded $16 billion in 2006 compared to $12.19 billion in 2005, even though Brazil's surplus has decreased from $1,479 million in 2004 to $410.7 million.

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC), Brazilian exports to China increased from $1.09 billion in 2000 to $8.4 billion in 2006. These numbers represent a growth of more than 650 percent in seven years.

Even with a reduction in the Brazilian surplus in relation to China, the nation continues to be the third-biggest recipient of Brazilian exports.

Brazil's exports to China are made up of a limited number of products, mainly commodities and semi-manufactured goods.

The export of primary goods has been growing more quickly than that of manufactured products, with the former currently representing 68 percent of Brazil's total exports to China.

Compared with other markets, the average proportion of primary goods in Brazil's total exports to China was 29.3 percent in 2006.

Five major products made up more than 70 percent of Brazilian exports to China last year: soybeans (28.95 percent of total), non-agglomerated iron ores (25.5 percent), crude oil (9.95 percent), agglomerated iron ores (5.81 percent) and wood chemical paste (4.14 percent).

In 2003, China surpassed Japan to become the largest importer of Brazilian soybean. Last year, China imported $2.43 billion worth of soybean, representing a growth of 41.62 percent compared with 2005.

The growth in the Chinese metallurgical industry has stimulated the import of iron ore. China is the main buyer of Brazilian iron ore, with imports worth $1.79 billion in 2005, an annual increase of 60 percent; and $2.63 billion in 2006, a growth of 47 percent over 2005.

Brazilian imports from China grew from $1.22 billion in 2000 to $7.99 billion in 2006, a growth of more than 550 percent in seven years, while the proportion of Chinese products in the Brazilian imports scope increased from 2.19 percent to 8.7 percent during the same time.

Major Brazilian imports from China consist of machines, electronic devices and electronic materials.

A significant part of the electric-electronic products imported from China are components used in the computer industry, telephony and other electric apparatus, being part of the productive chain of Brazilian industry, especially in the states of Amazonas, Sao Paulo and Bahia.

(China Daily 09/07/2007 page26)