Brazil’s industry drops in 9 of the 15 locations surveyed in April – IBGE

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In line with the national trend, regional industrial production decreased in 9 of the 15 locations analyzed by the Monthly Industrial Survey (PIM Regional) released today, June 9, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). From March to April, local industries were affected by the poor performance of the oil derivatives sector.

National production, released last week, fell 1.3% in April compared to March. The largest drop occurred in Bahia, down 12.4%, the biggest slump since April 2020, a drop of 23.4%. With the 5th negative rate, Bahia accumulated a 31.8% loss.

The Northeast Region posted the 2nd largest drop, of 7.8% in the month, influenced by the result of the leather, travel goods, and footwear industry. The accumulated drop in five negative months reaches 17.1%.

São Paulo dropped 3.3%, also above the national average, affected by the performance of the oil derivatives, pharmaceutical, and other chemical products sectors. Other places posting negative rates in April were Goiás (-3.6%), Pernambuco (-2.4%), Santa Catarina (-2%), Ceará (-1.2%), Mato Grosso (-1.1%), and Minas Gerais (-0.9%).

High

The highlight among locations with high industrial production was the state of Amazonas, up 1.9% with the second consecutive positive rate, accumulating an increase of 11%. In contrast to other posting a drop, in Amazonas the oil products sector performed well.

The second highest was in Rio de Janeiro, up 1.5%. The oil extraction sector contributed to the positive performance. Industries in Espírito Santo (0.9%), Pará (0.3%), Rio Grande do Sul (0.3%), and Paraná (0.2%) also posted highs in April compared to the previous month.

Compared to April 2020, national growth reached 34.7% and 12 of the 15 locations surveyed posted an increase. However, the IBGE points out that the comparison base is very low, since in April last year the industrial sector was heavily impacted by social isolation resulting from the covid-19 pandemic.

The highest growth in the annual comparison were in Amazonas (132.8%) and Ceará (90.2%). Paraná (55.1%), Rio Grande do Sul (53.8%), Santa Catarina (50.5%), and São Paulo (45.5%) were also above the national average.

Completing the list of places with high rates, compared to April 2020, were Minas Gerais (32.5%), Pernambuco (31.4%), Espírito Santo (26.1%), the Northeast (20.2%), Rio de Janeiro (10.3%), and Pará (6.0%).

The negative rates, in the yearly comparison, were registered in Bahia (-10%), Goiás (-8.7%), and Mato Grosso (-2%).

Pandemic

According to the IBGE, the April result was affected by the worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic, with restrictive measures, the reduction in the circulation of people, and work schedules. Nevertheless, five places are above the pre-pandemic level, taking February 2020 as a reference: Minas Gerais (10.2% higher); Santa Catarina (7.2%), Paraná (6.4%), Amazonas (4.4%), and São Paulo (3.4%).

In the accumulated 12-month period, Brazil registers a 1.1% rise in industrial production, as do 8 of the regions surveyed. The highest accumulated increases are registered in Pernambuco (7.4%), Santa Catarina (6.6%), Paraná, and Rio Grande do Sul, both up 4.7%.

On the other hand, the largest accumulated drops in 12 months were recorded in Bahia (-9.8%), Espírito Santo (-9.2%), and Mato Grosso, which accumulated losses of 5.9%.