São Paulo – Sales of paint and varnish should grow 4% this year compared with last year, according to data supplied by the Union of Paint and Varnish Industries of the State of São (Sitivesp).
"We are expecting a much better year. factors that may help leverage the economy include the implementation of works pertaining to the federal government’s Growth Acceleration Programme (PAC, in the Portuguese acronym) and the housing programme My House, My Life (Minha Casa, Minha Vida). Not to mention that in 2010we will have elections, which usually boost investment in construction works across the country," said in a press release Airton Sicolin, advisor to the Sitivesp.
Last year, exports by the industry totalled US$ 134.8 million, a figure 20% lower than in 2008. According to data from the Sitivesp, the industry was influenced by the international crisis and the appreciation of the Brazilian currency (real) against the dollar. The result disrupted a sequence of continued growth in the sector’s foreign sales, which grew by 80% between 2004 and 2008.
Paint and varnish imports also dropped last year. Purchases totalled US$ 212.2 million, 7.8% less than in 2008.
In the domestic market, paint and varnish consumption last year reached 398.2 million gallons, totalling over 1.43 billion litres, a 1.5% decline compared with 2008. The Sitivesp informed that the segments most impacted by the crisis were industrial line products, which had a reduction of 6%. Sales of paint for the auto industry decreased by 4%, and printing paint sales dropped by 8%. The civil construction paint sector was the only one for which sales grew, by 0.7%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
