By Rogerio Jelmayer

SAO PAULO--Brazilian mining giant Vale SA's (VALE) share price is suffering mainly from investor worries about economic growth in China, Chief Executive Murilo Ferreira said Wednesday.

"The main adversary of our share price is the belief that China is going to sink," Mr. Ferreira said in a presentation to businessmen and economists. "I think those people are wrong and that their forecasts are going to sink."

China's steel industry is Vale's biggest customer. Vale is the world's largest iron-ore producer and its shares are down almost 20% this year, compared with a 7.5% decline in No. 2 miner Rio Tinto PLC.

--Paul Kiernan contributed to this article.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at Rogerio.jelmayer@wsj.com

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