Sharp increase of imports have pushed down Brazil's trade surplus by 70 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the corresponding period last year, the Development Ministry said Thursday.
The country registered a trade surplus of 895 million U.S. dollars in the first three months of the year, according to the ministry.
Imports in the first quarter totaled 38 billion dollars, up 36 percent from the amount posted in the first quarter of 2009.
Exports between January and March totaled 39 billion dollars, up 26 percent from the first quarter of 2009.
The development ministry also said that between April 2009 and March this year, Brazil has posted a primary surplus of 23 billion dollars, a 6.8-percent increase upon the period from April 2008 to March 2009.
Between April 2009 and March 2010, the country's exports totaled 161 billion dollars while its imports totaled 138 billion dollars.
Brazil's main trading partners are the Mercosur countries in Latin America and the European Union, followed by Asia and the United States.
Most of the country's exports are manufactured and semi-manufactured goods while aircraft and raw cotton are leading imports into Brazil./.