Brazil wants to increase exports of fashion items to China, with about 20 Brazilian companies last week travelling to Shanghai for an exploratory field trip, an initiative supported by the Brazilian Government.

“[The number of exports to the fashion market] is quite small, we want to work on that. Chinese consumers [in the case of the fashion segment] are mainly looking to European and American products,” said Ricardo Santana, Business Director of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

“It is in this segment that we have to get our products, the opportunity to showcase our lifestyle,” Mr Santana said quoted by news agency Agência Brasil.

The value of Brazilian fashion item exports to the Chinese market amounted to US$122.4 million in 2013, about 0.26 percent of the total value of goods Brazil sold to China last year.

During the stay in Shanghai, members of the delegation attended market presentations by business experts, visited some of the main shops in the city and participated in business matching sessions.