Aloisio Milani
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Agribusiness sector exports were up 16% in March, compared to March 2005. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the sector's month's exports reached US$3.979 billion, a record for the month of March.

Ministry spokespersons explained that the strong performance of some goods "fattened" total exports. For example, soy exports were up 38.8%, sugar and ethanol (up 46.4%), paper and cellulose (up 21.2%), leather and its byproducts (up 15.2%) and meats (up 5%).

Translation: Allen Bennett