Vale SA executive Luiz Meriz expects shipments to China of iron ore mined by the Brazilian company to increase this year, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) says.

The Covid-19 pandemic has failed to curb Vale output, a statement posted on the CISA website quotes Mr Meriz, who is in charge his company’s sales of iron ore and coal around the world, as saying in a conference call.

Separately, Reuters news agency reports that Vale shipped 190 million tonnes of iron ore and pellets to China last year.

The report says the UN Conference on Trade and Development expects Chinese imports of iron from all sources to increase by 6 percent this year,.

China had 109.5 million tonnes of iron ore stockpiled on May 29, the least since November 2016, Reuters says, citing data collected by consulting firm SteelHome.