Rio, June 17, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Industrial production fell, in April, in nine of the 12 regions surveyed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in comparison with April, 2002. This result, released today, takes into account that there were two fewer business days in April of last year. The greatest declines occurred in Santa Catarina (-10.0%), Pernambuco (-7.7%), Minas Gerais (-6.6%), and Ceará (-5.3%).

In relation to the national average of -4.2%, obtained for all of industry in Brazil on the same basis of comparison, the South (-3.5%), Paraná (-2.5%), the Northeast (-1.9%), and Rio de Janeiro (-0.2%) showed results that were still negative but above the average. Only in Espírito Santo (17.6%), Bahia (6.5%), and Rio Grande do Sul (0.9%) did industrial production increase. (DAS)