Brazil's exports of manufactured products to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean showed an upward trend in the first half of this year, according to to a research report published on Tuesday.

In the first half of 2006, 31.2 percent of Brazil's exports of manufactured goods were destined for Latin American and Caribbean countries, up from 28.6 percent in the same period of last year, said the report released by the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade.

The total revenue of Brazilian exports of manufactured products to the region rose from 8.57 billion U.S. dollars to 10.62 billion U.S. dollars.

Exports of manufactured products to the United States and the European Union also increased in the period, but their share of the total volume of Brazilian exports dropped.

According to the report, exports to the United States accounted for 23.5 percent of Brazil's sales in the first half, down from 25.6 percent a year earlier. Exports to the EU was 17.2 percent, compared with 18.2 percent.

The study also showed that Argentina and Venezuela imported the most manufactured products from Brazil in the first half of 2006.

As Brazil's biggest trading partner in the region, Argentina imported 4.83 billion U.S. dollars worth of manufactured products from Brazil in the January-June 2006 period.

Source: Xinhua