Brazils trade surplus in March totalled only 136 mln dlrs compared to 1.13 billion dlrs in the same month last year director of the Banco do Brasils Foreign Trade Department (Cacex) Roberto Fendt said. In a news conference Fendt attributed the weak performance in the March trade balance to labour strikes in the country. March exports totalled 1.43 billion dlrs against 1.53 billion dlrs in February and 2.16 billion dlrs in March 1986. March imports amounted to 1.29 billion dlrs compared to 1.27 billion dlrs in February and 1.02 billion dlrs in March 1986. Fendt said that coffee earnings rose to 220 mln dlrs in March from 110 mln dlrs in February while oil derivatives were down to 54 mln dlrs from 58 mln dlrs in February. He said that although the March results were considerably lower than the same month last year the governments target of an eight billion dlr surplus for 1987 should be achieved. The January-March trade surplus totalled 526 mln dlrs well below a similar period last year which reached 2.46 billion dlrs. Asked to explain the reason for his optimism Fendt said they were estimating that in each of the last six months of the year the trade surplus would amount one billion dlrs.
BRAZIL TRADE SURPLUS FALLS SHARPLY IN MARCH