The Brazilian Economy Ministry now forecasts that the Brazilian trade surplus will beUS$56.7 billion this year, having forecast before a surplus of $50 billion, Reuters reports.

The news agency, citing official figures, says the Brazilian trade surplus last year was US$58.03 billion.

Official figures indicate that the trade surplus was US$27.13 billion in the first half of this year, 9.6 percent less than a year earlier.

The report says officials of the ministry have given a warning that Brazilian trade will shrink as economic growth slows around the world.

The officials forecast that the annual value of exports will fall by 2 percent this year and that the annual value of imports will fall by 1.9 percent.

“Global growth this year is expected to be lower than last year, and obviously, we will suffer as a result,” Reuters quotes one official, Lucas Ferraz, as saying.