Brasília - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has decided to raise the country's export goal from US$88 billion to US$90 billion for this year. As a result, the trade surplus goal also rose: from US$28 billion to US$30 billion. According to minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, the decision was based on the strong performance in July to mid- August. "The whole productive chain is doing well. Automobiles, machinery and equipment are all positive. That leads us to believe we can export US$90 billion," said the minister.

Furlan explained that the good news is that the daily average value of exports is running at US$440 million in August, which means exports could be over US$8 billion for the month. Perhaps as much as US$9 billion. "That makes us feel comfortable with the new US$90 billion goal for the year," he said.

Furlan added that another consideration was the steady level of prices on international markets, although soy was down. "What we have are prices in steel, metals and ores, along with manufactered goods, that are consistently above what we expected," he explained.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Nelson Motta
Translator: Allen Bennett
08/16/2004