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Its agricultural production continues to increase, but Brazil can hardly be called an agricultural nation anymore. In less than a generation, manufacturing has overtaken agriculture as the mainstay of the Brazilian economy. While this is evident in the domestic market, it is even more clear in the export field, where manufactured goods account for roughly half of all Brazilian exports, a giant jump from 8 percent in 1965. The World Bank notes that ''Brazil's manufactured exports grew at 19.5 percent a year between 1965 and 1981.'' Even more spectacular, says the bank, is the growth in exports of capital goods and technologically sophisticated products.

For example, transportation equipment exports increased from $8 million in 1965 to $2 billion in 1981.m