OREANDA-NEWS. Vale was one of the participants in the 33rd edition of the National Encounter for Foreign Trade (Enaex), which took place on August 7 and 8, in Rio de Janeiro. At this event, the Executive Director for Ferrous and Strategy, JosЁ¦ Carlos Martins, took part in the panel, 'Brazil-China - 40 years of strategic partnership', during which he highlighted Vale's pioneering performance in the commercial relationship between the two countries. During the meeting, our company also won the prize for Distinction in Foreign Trade, awarded by the Brazilian Foreign Trade Association (AEB) and by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).

In his presentation, Martins highlighted the history of the company's commercial relations with China, ever since the first exports of iron ore, which took place 41 years ago. As well as this, he outlined how this partnership has advanced, in view of the fact that, over these years, Vale exported over one billion metric tons of the mineral to China. The executive director also showed, based on numbers and charts, Vale's growing significance in Brazil's balance of trade. Ў°Our intention is, over the next four or five years, to double our sales of iron ore to China, which took 40 years to attain. For 2014, our target is to produce 312 million metric tons of iron ore, and, in 2018, to reach 450 million metric tons per yearЎ±, said Martins.

The director also mentioned the benefits of this partnership for his country's economy. Ў°The increase in iron ore production for China has a positive impact on the Brazilian economy, once it creates more jobs, taxes, and a surplus in its balance of trade, all of which consequently generate the development of Brazil as a nationЎ±, explained the executive director during the panel.