RIO DE JANEIRO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade announced Monday a trade surplus of 36.21 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2017.
The figures are the highest in 29 years and represent a rise of 53 percent compared to the same period in 2016. The daily average surplus for working days stood at 292 million U.S. dollars.
Exports amounted to 107.71 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of the year, with an average 868 million U.S. dollars per business day, up 19.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
Imports totaled 71.49 billion U.S. dollars, with an average of 576 million U.S. dollars per business day, up 7.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
The value of Brazilian products increased significantly in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, the ministry said, while the amount of exported products rose 1.8 percent, their price was up 17.6 percent.
The Brazilian Central Bank also estimated the country would see a trade surplus of 51 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, up from the record of 47.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2016.
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