Brasília, November 6, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The 4% growth in industrial production in September, announced on Wednesday (5) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), led the Minister of Planning, Guido Mantega, to review growth forecasts for 2004. In a telephone interview from Mexico with the Agência Brasil, he said that, if growth this quarter is around 3%, it is possible to project 3.5%-4% growth for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) next year, assuming "this economic tendency is maintained," he emphasized.
He explained that the growth is solid, because it is occurring in almost all sectors of activity evaluated in the IBGE's monthly survey. According to the Minister, 40 of the 61 sectors analyzed registered acceleration. He pointed out that the capital goods sector is growing the most, at an 8% rate. In his opinion, this shows that a resumption of investments is taking place. He adds that consumption grew, too, with increases of 5.1% in durable goods and 4.6% in semi-durable goods.
The rise in investments and consumption indicate to Mantega that the government's policy is having success. "The fiscal policy carried out in the Administration's first year restored the country's confidence and is now encouraging businessmen to invest again," he observes.
The Minister thinks that in order to have sustainable development, the government must take steps to consolidate investments. He mentioned two projects which, he believes, will stimulate investments in various sectors: The Public/Private Partnership project (PPP), which will stimulate investments in infrastructure, and the Industrial and Technological Policy, intended to make resources available for various sectors.
Mantega explained that partnership between the government and private enterprise was the solution discovered by the government to complement its own insufficient budgetary resources for infrastructure. According to him, the private sector's reaction has been very positive, since it already possesses idle resources and capacity. The Minister expects the project to be approved by the National Congress as soon as possible, so it can be implemented in 2004.
Another sector that will continue to receive special attention from the government, according to Mantega, is foreign trade. The goal, he says, "is to reduce our vulnerability, even though the results in 2003 are spectacular, with a record surplus in the trade balance."
He added that among the government programs that should be intensified are the opening of new markets, diversification of and aggregation of value to the export portfolio, and the reduction of bureaucracy and export expenses. (DAS)
