Cristiane Ribeiro
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - In February, industrial production grew in 11 of the 14 areas covered by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in its Monthly Industrial Survey. The comparison is with data from the February, 2005, survey, and, in terms of this parameter, the average growth of industry, nationally, was 5.4%.

The data, which were announced today (7), show that the industries with the best performance were those in the durable consumer goods sector, especially ones that export, such as manufacturers of automobiles, television sets, DVD players, sound systems, and cellphones. "In this respect, we should highlight the state of Amazonas, in which the growth of the electronic and communications equipment segment reflects the increased production of television sets, DVDs, and cellphones," observed André Machado, an economist with the IBGE's industrial department.

Growth also occurred in the semi-durable and non-durable goods sectors, such as manufacturers of food, beverages, clothing, footwear, and pharmaceutical products.

On a state-by-state basis, industry in the state of Amazonas expanded 18% in February in comparison with February, 2005. Rio de Janeiro, second in the ranking, with an increase of 9.9%, was benefitted by an outstanding performance in the extractive sector (19.8%), due to the extraction and refining of petroleum and natural gas.

Translation: David Silberstein