China becomes the largest buyer of Brazilian steel

China became the main destination for Brazil's steel products for the first time ever in October, financial daily Gazeta Mercantil reported Thursday. In the first ten months of the year, China bought US$590mn worth of steel products from Brazil, or 18.6% of the South American country's total steel exports, according to data from the Development Ministry Foreign Trade Department (Secex). The US, which typically ranked first, has slipped to second place, with US$505mn in steel imports from Brazil between January and October, or 15.9% of the total. With average economic growth of 7% in recent years, China has been expanding its purchases of basic products from Brazil, Gazeta said. The Asian country is also the largest buyer of Brazilian iron ore. by Sergio Caldas