Rio - Exports and improved consumer credit conditions are the chief factors behind the positive performance of Brazilian industry in the last four months, a period in which the sector's growth rate was 5.4%. With the exception of intermediate goods, the other three use categories (capital goods, consumer durables, and consumer non-durables) all recorded positive growth rates. This analysis was provided by the head of the industry sector of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Sílvio Salles, based on the Monthly Industrial Survey released by the Institute.

The study demonstrates that Brazilian industry fared well in terms of all the indicators focused in the survey. In comparison with May, growth amounted to 0.5%, enabling the sector to attain its highest level of production since the beginning of the 1970's, when the IBGE began the historial series used in this research. Compared with June, 2003, the increase was 13%, the largest variation since February, 2000. For the semester as a whole, domestic production rose 7.7%.

According to the economist, the indicators used in the study reveal that the growth trend in industrial production should continue in the coming months. He recalled that the Central Bank's statistics for July on exports, imports, and vehicle production also present positive signs.

According to the IBGE's research, the growth in production between January and June affected 22 sectors and 61 of the 76 subsectors included in the survey. The major positive effects came from motor vehicles (26.1%), machinery and equipment (16.2%), and electronic materials and communications devices and equipment (35.4%).

On the negative side, in addition to extractive industries (petroleum and natural gas), down 0.3%, the branches associated with the evolution of the wage mass also exhibited negative indexes, such as pharmaceuticals (-5.9%), publishing and printing (-1%), footwear and leather items (-3.3%), and clothing and accessories (-1.4%).

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Cristiane Ribeiro
Translator: David Silberstein
08/09/2004