Rio de Janeiro – The production of the Brazilian agroindustry dropped by 3.3% in the first half of 2011, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) informed this Tuesday (9th). The result is below that of the same period last year, when there was growth of 6%, and below the performance of the industry as a whole in the first six months of 2011 (growth of 1.7%).
According to data culled from the Physical Production Industrial Survey – Agroindustry, sectors linked to agriculture, including derivative products and those used in the activity and which have greater importance to the agroindustry, have declined by 3.1%, and performed more poorly than the sectors linked to animal husbandry, which have grown by 1%.
The main decline was recorded in production of agricultural derivatives (-4.7%). Four out of eight subsectors that comprise the group have recorded slowdowns, especially sugarcane derivatives (-25.4%), such as granulated sugar (-24.8%) and ethanol (-27.7%). These products have suffered from unfavourable weather conditions (drought during the plants’ growth stage and excess rainfall, which postponed the harvest) and from the lack of investment in crop renewal during the period of the world financial crisis, which led to reduced productivity.
Other negative contributions were made by derivatives of wheat (-1.8%), due to crop decline, of maize (-0.9%) and orange (-59.7%). There was growth in the case of derivatives of soy (1.4%), driven by crop expansion; pulp (1.5%); tobacco (7.0%) and rice (17.9%), a product geared mainly toward the domestic market, as a result of increased production.
The IBGE survey also points out that industrial products deriving from animal husbandry have remained virtually stable (-0.1%) in the first six months of the year. There was growth in production of poultry derivatives (0.5%), sustained by both the domestic market and rising exports; and in production of beef and pork derivatives (1.4%).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
