Brasília, July 1, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Of the 19 thousand Brazilian companies that exported last year, 10 thousand are micro and small-sized firms, which generally sell manufactured products containing aggregated value. Their activities also contribute to job creation and income distribution. Firms in this group transact a larger number of export operations than do large companies, which sell more expensive products, informed Ivan Ramalho, Secretary of Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Development.

Manufactured goods constitute around 54% of all that Brazil exports. Sales of basic goods represent 30%.

Export growth is going hand in hand with the conquest of non-traditional markets, according to Ramalho.

In the import area, too, a similar phenomenon is taking place: The smaller firms have bought more, in terms of quantity, than the large companies.

Reporter: Lourenço Melo
Translator: David Silberstein