Jul 03, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. Exports from Alta Floresta companies decreased in the first five months of 2008, ITTO reported. Total exports worth $6.2 million were 25% lower than observed in the same period of 2007, when they were valued at $8.4 million. The value of exports fell since their highest level in January 2008, when exports totaled $1.6 million. In May, however, exports were only worth $757,000. Trade with the US alone decreased 36%, dropping from $4.2 million in January to May 2007 to $2.7 million during the same period in 2008. Exports to Spain were worth $1.5 million during the 2008 period. The main reason for the dramatic changes in exports was the weak US dollar, which has been fluctuating between $1=BRL 1.61 and $1=BRL 1.63 in June. In May, it reached its lowest in the past nine years, with an average of $1=BRL 1.64. Thus, exports of forest products in the region have become less profitable and the domestic market has become more attractive for Alta Floresta producers, mainly due to the expansion of the civil construction market.