Brazil Making Condoms To Stem Amazon Losses, AIDS BRAZIL: April 8, 2008 BRASILIA - The Brazilian government began producing condoms on Monday using rubber from trees in the Amazon, a move it said would help preserve the world's largest rainforest and cut dependence on imported contraceptives given away to fight AIDS. Brazil's first government-run condom factory, located in northwestern Acre state, will produce 100 million condoms a year, the health ministry said in a statement. The latex comes from the Chico Mendes reserve, named after a conservationist and rubber tapper killed in 1988 by ranchers. The government says the condoms would be the only ones made of latex harvested from a tropical forest. Environmentalists say tapping native rubber trees helps generate income for Amazon residents and reduces pressure to fell trees. More than 550 families will earn a total of 2.2 million reais ($1.3 million) annually producing condoms, the ministry said. The intention is also to reduce Brazil's dependence on imported condoms, which are distributed free as part of a national program to combat AIDS. The government says it is the world's largest single buyer of condoms. It purchased 1 billion this year to be distributed over the next two years, a health ministry spokesman said. The Roman Catholic Church has frequently criticized the government's distribution of condoms. (Reporting by Raymond Colitt; Editing by Eric Walsh) REUTERS NEWS SERVICE