Brasília, 11/3/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Brazil's foreign trade surplus from January to October was a record US$20.340 billion - a new historical high. Exports reached US$60.356 billion (a daily (workday) average of US$286), and imports US$40.016 billion (US$189.6 million per day.

According to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, in October there was a trade surplus of US$2.543 billion, with exports totalling US$7.566 billion (both records for the month of October). Compared to October 2002, exports rose 16.9%.

As for the year (January to October), exports in 2003 are up 20.7%, compared to 2002. (AB)