Rio, February 16, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Agribusiness grew 1.8% in Brazil in 2003. For the third year in a row, this rate was superior to industrial growth in general, which last year registered only a modest 0.3%. According to data released Friday (13) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), between 2000 and 2003 industrial activity in Brazil grew 4.5%, whereas agribusiness by itself advanced 13.3%.

According to the Institute, this result confirms the greater dynamism of industrial sectors most closely linked to agribusiness, especially in export-oriented activities. The IBGE found that the industrial growth rate was propelled by good performances in branches of industrial products used by agriculture (17.2%), with emphasis on the machinery and equipment sector (24.4%). (DAS)