China overtook the United States as the biggest buyer of Brazilian products in 2009, the Brazilian industry and trade ministry said on Monday.

China imported products valued at 19.9 billion U.S. dollars from Brazil, while the U.S. bought 15.7 billion dollars worth of goods, Foreign Trade Secretary Welber Barral said when presenting the annual commercial report.

The U.S. was the largest buyer of Brazilian products in 2008, purchasing 27.6 billion dollars, while China's imports from the country were 16.4 billion dollars.

China is increasing imports as the Asian country has been less affected than the U.S. by the international financial crisis, according to Barral.

However, he predicted the U.S. imports would pick up soon. "In 2010, the United States could again become the main destination of Brazilian products," though they were unlikely to reach the 2008 level, Barral said.

According to the estimation of the International Monetary Found (IMF), the U.S. economy would likely grow by 1.5 percent in 2010.

Efforts will be made to boost the U.S. market to make up for the "sharp drop" in 2009, Barral said.

(Webeditor: Cao from CRIENGLISH.com)
(Source: http://english.cri.cn/6826/2010/01/05/1721s540067.htm)