Cristina ìndio do Brasil
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - Industry was the sector that grew the most between January and June of this year. A study released yesterday (31) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), shows that the sector grew 4.4%, compared with the second half of last year. This result was superior to the rates of growth in agribusiness, 2.9%, and the service sector, 2.4%.

In other IBGE studies, agriculture was the sector that contributed most to the expansion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the sum of wealth produced by the country. Between April and June, however, industry was in the forefront, growing 3%. Agriculture grew 1.1%, behind the service sector, which expanded 1.2%.

Cláudia Dionísio, an economist in the IBGE's National Accounts Section, informs that the performance of the industrial sector was especially favored by the 17.5% growth in mineral extraction. Accordng to the economist, this increase was led by coal mining, for use in domestic industry and for export, and by the start of operations in two Petrobras platforms.

The result was also bolstered by the growth of Public Service Industries, such as electricity, water, and sewage. "When industry is growing, these services grow, too, because industry increases its demand, and more electricity is produced," she explained. She also observed that the subsectors of Manufacturing (4.1%) and Construction (3.7%) contributed to the positive performance of the industrial sector.

Translation: David Silberstein