Rio de Janeiro – The municipality of São Paulo remained atop the country’s industrial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ranking, having accounted for 8.7% of the income generated by the sector. The city’s share, however, has declined compared with 2004, when it accounted for 9.9% of the Brazilian industry’s GDP. Second in the ranking is the municipality of Campos dos Goytacazes (3.4%), in state of Rio de Janeiro, which surpassed the state capital in 2005, driven by oil and natural gas exploration; and the state capital Rio de Janeiro (2.0%).
The information, disclosed this Friday (10th) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), was culled from the 2008 GDP of Municipalities survey.
According to the survey, the highest growth rates in industrial added value took place among cities that had shares of at least 0.5% have taken place in Campos dos Goytacazes, which grew by 0.8% over the previous year, and Parauapebas (state of Pará), which grew by 0.4% in the comparison between 2004 and 2008.
In Campos, the share increase was driven by high prices and oil production; Parauapebas benefited from the increase in iron ore and manganese costs on the international market, as the municipality houses large projects in mining and exploration of these products.
The survey also underscores that industrial activity remains the sector with the highest concentration. As of 2008, only ten municipalities accounted for roughly one fourth of industrial added value and 13.6% of the country’s population. The top 56 municipalities account for half the sector’s added value and 27.9% of the population. On the other hand, 2,513 municipalities accounted for only 1% of added value and concentrated 9.7% of the population.
In the services sector, half of the GDP remained concentrated in 36 cities, which accounted for 27.7% of the population; on the other hand, 1,314 municipalities accounted for 1% of the sector’s added value and for 2.9% of the population. Services remained strongly concentrated in the capitals, which retained a 40.2% share in 2008.
Out of the 36 municipalities that accounted for 50% of the services GDP, 16 were capitals. In this sector, the São Paulo state capital lost the most share compared with 2007 (-0.4%), due to losses in retail sales, incurred especially by auto dealerships and fuel distributors. On the other hand, the largest increase in share was recorded in the Brazilian capital Brasília (0.2%), driven by wage adjustments.
In agriculture, a sector in which concentration is less intense, 189 municipalities held 25% of the sector’s added value and 655 cities accounted for 1% of it. The document claims that in 2008 a favourable international scenario and good climate conditions have benefited the performance of soy and maize crops.
For the second year running, the municipality of Sorriso (state of Mato Grosso) was the leading grain producing state, especially soy, and accounted for 0.5% of the sector’s GDP. Next on the list is the city of São Desidério, in the state of Bahia, which also had a 0.5% share as a result of soy and maize production, at high prices. Besides, there has been an improvement in farming techniques and expansion of harvested areas.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
