Rio, 2/26/2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Forty Brazilian exporting firms have already signed up for next month's Brazil-Spain Exporter Convention in Madrid. The gathering is sponsored by the Spanish Exporters Club with support by the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute (Icex) and the Spanish embassy in Brazil.

According to spokesmen for the sponsors, the idea is to expand activities of the 250 Spanish firms that operate in Brazil with investments totalling some US$18 billion, besides increasing the volume and quality of imports from Brazil.

Data from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade show that bilateral trade favored Brazil, which had a surplus of US$577.5 million, with exports of US$1.551, in 2003 (when exports to Spain rose 38.5%). Brazil's main exports to Spain are: soybeans and corn, vegetable oils, iron ore and unrefined petroleum. (AB)