Rio, November 28, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - According to a survey conducted by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) in October and released today in this capital, the initial forecast for the 2003 harvest reveals that the area already under or ready for cultivation should expand 2.36%, from 33.011 million hectares to 33.791 million, compared with 2002. The area in which crops will be harvested should increase 3.10%, compared with 2002.

Of the nine products analyzed in the systematic survey of Agricultural production, two presented positive variations relative to the area cultivated in 2002: onions (0.09%) and soybeans (5.70%). The others show declines: herbaceous cotton (-0.84%), unhusked rice (-0.16%), first harvest potatoes (-4.77%), sugar cane (-0.93%), first harvest beans (-0.16%), cassava (-9.17%), and first harvest corn (-0.57%).

The systematic survey covers plans for cultivation and areas already under cultivation in the Southeast, Sul, and Center-West regions and in the states of Rondônia, Bahia, Maranhão, and Piauí. (DAS)