Chinese iron ore imports, which are the second-largest exports from Brazil to China, could exceed the projection of 355 million tons from the Chinese Association of Iron and Steel, the Chinese official press reported Thursday, citing sector analysts.

"Analysts have said that if the growth posted in the first quarter of the year carries on between April and December, total imports for 2007 will exceed the forecast of 355 million tons," said official Chinese news Agency New China.

In the first quarter of the year, China imported 100.19 million tons of iron ore, or 23.4 percent more than in the same period of last year.

China, which is the world's biggest producer and consumer of steel, imported 325 million tons of iron ore – most of it from Brazil – and produced 418.78 million tons of steel in 2006.

Brazil is the largest exporter of iron ore to China and the material is, following soy beans, the second-largest export product from Brazil to China.

Brazilian company Companhia do Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) became China's biggest supplier of iron ore in 2006, having sold 77.8 million tons on the Chinese market, or 37.8 percent more than in 2005 and almost a quarter of all iron ore bought by the Chinese that year.