Brasília, 7/15/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - A strike by federal civil servants during the second week in July, especially those who work in customshouses, caused a 10.7% reduction in Brazilian exports, compared to the first week of July. According to the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex), the daily average value of exports fell from US$284.8 million to US$254.0 million. In spite of the reduction, the trade surplus has now reached US$11.125 billion, with exports at US$35.411 billion, and imports at US$24.286 billion.

There were drops in exports of manufactured and semi-manufactured goods, down 5.6% and 39.8%, compared to the first week of July. The bright spot was basic goods, where there was an increase of 4.6%. (AB)