Brasília, 9/9/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - In the first week of September, the daily average value of imports by Brazil rose 18.4%. For the sake of comparison, the daily average during the same period last year was US$ 190 million; last week it had risen to US$ 225 million. The increase in imports was across the board. Fertilizers rose 96,7%, fuels and lubricants were up 38%, cereals and other ground grains rose 36,7%, steel was up 33,4%, vehicles and autoparts up 32,5%, plastics up 24,7%, mechanical equipment 16,4%, and optical and other precision instruments up 6,6%. Imports for the first week of September totalled US$ 1.125 billion. (AB)