RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Industrial production in Brazil retreated by 4.5% in the first quarter of the year compared to the first three months of 2021, still impacted by the shortage of raw materials in the market, the government reported on April 3.
According to data released by the state-owned Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in March alone, industry activity in South America’s largest economy slowed by 2.1% compared to the same month last year.
According to IBGE, the March result is still below pre-pandemic levels, still impacted by local and international factors, “which hinder a resumption of the industry”.
“The industrial plants still perceive increases in production costs and reflect the shortage of some raw materials,” the research manager, André Macedo, highlighted in the report.
The analyst also pointed out the high interest rates and the growing inflation, currently at 11.30% year-on-year, which “has been reducing the disposable income” of Brazilians.
“There is also the labor market, which presents some improvement, (but) still shows indexes as a mass of yields that do not advance,” he completed.
In 2021, Brazil’s industrial production increased by 3.9% compared to 2020, after two years in negative, in line with the country’s economic recovery in the second year of the pandemic.
The country’s economy grew by 4.6% last year, its best performance since 2010, and thus recovered from the fall in 2020, when it plummeted by 3.9% due to the impacts of covid-19.
With information from EFE