China has become Brazil's third largest machinery equipment supplier

Brazilian machinery builders association said recently,China has become Brazil's third largest machinery equipment supplier, with its machinery exports to Brazil surging nearly 150 percent to 364 million U.S. dollars in the first two months of 2008.

During the time mentioned above, Brazil imported machinery equipment worth 3.27 billion dollars, there was up 66.1-percent from the year before, according to figures released by the association.

Brazil's largest machinery equipment supplier is the United States, exporting 835 million dollars worth of equipment to the South American nation. It is followed by Germany with an export value of 465 million dollars.

Jose Velloso Dias Cardoso, the vice president of the Brazilian Machinery Builders'Association, said: "Three years ago, China was the 15th supplier of machinery equipment to Brazil. However, by last year it had already climbed up to fourth place, and this year China took a further step by ranking third, following only the U.S. and Germany."

The president of the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIBC) said made-in-China machinery equipment is gaining popularity due to their high cost-effective performance.

This is highlighted by a recent announcement from Brazilian metal and steel producer Gerdau S.A. that it is ready to import Chinese machinery equipment worth 250 million dollars.

Many reports predict China will overtake Germany to become the second largest machinery supplier to Brazil by the end of this year.