Credit for 2003/2004 harvest will increase 26%

10/12/2003 - 13h38

Brasília, 12/11/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues, says that 2003 was a good year for Brazilian agriculture. He pointed out that rural credit operations were up 8%, compared to 2002, while there will be an increase of 26% in the total amount of credit available for the 2003/2004 harvest, reaching a record R$32.5 billion.

The minister said that the support of congress had been important in getting funding approved. He said that the Brazilian agribusiness sector was now responsible for 42% of all exports, 33.8% of the country's GDP and 37% of the jobs (employing 17.7 million workers). (AB)