São Paulo – The machinery and equipment sector saw a 0.7% increase in revenue in 2019 from a year before, as per figures made public this Monday (27) by the Brazilian Machinery Builders Association (Abimaq). Revenue stood at BRL 82.4 billion (USD 19.7 billion) last year.
Exports slid by 7.2% in 2019, fetching USD 9 billion. The decrease was driven by a 18.1% decline in sales to Latin America, particularly Argentina (28.1%), Paraguay (23.8%) and Chile (9%). The region accounts for 33.7% of the foreign sales.
Domestic sales revenue was up 7.1% last year, grossing BRL 46.3 billion. According to Abimaq president José Velloso, part of this increase was driven by companies that had to buy new equipment to replace the ones that had became outdated due to the lack of investment over the last few years.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
