The chief executive officer of Brazil’s Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore producer, said in an interview published on Sunday that the company would ramp up annual production to 450 million tonnes only when prices rise.

Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman told the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper the company would only operate at its full capacity of 450 million tonnes when prices increased. Until then, he said, production would be maintained at about 400 million tonnes.

Vale did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Sunday.

Schvartsman’s comment came after Vale reported last month that it had record iron ore and pellet production in the April-to-June period. It also said then that it was on track to hit its iron ore production target of 390 million tonnes this year.