The resumption of production in Rio Grande do Sul factories in June, the month following the floods that inundated much of Rio Grande do Sul, led to industrial production in the state growing by 34.9%, according to the Monthly Regional Industrial Survey, released this Thursday (8) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The expansion is the largest ever recorded by the state in the historical series of the survey.
The state’s result was also the highest among the 18 locations surveyed by IBGE. The explanation for the jump in Rio Grande do Sul’s industrial production is the negative comparison basis, since in May there was a decline of 26.3%, in a scenario in which many factories were closed or operating at a low pace, due to the floods.
According to the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Fiergs), 63% of the factories in Rio Grande do Sul had partial or total shutdown during the rainy season.
With May’s data severely affected, the resumption of activity in June has a more significant statistical effect, in addition to having already offset the losses from the previous month. This result was already expected, according to research analyst Bernardo Almeida.
“After a period of shutdown due to flooding caused by heavy rains in the state, activities were resumed in several industrial plants. This was decisive for the positive result of the Rio Grande do Sul industry in June, being the most intense positive rate for the local industry since the beginning of the historical series”, explained Almeida.
Among the sectors that contributed to this positive behavior are chemical products, petroleum derivatives, motor vehicles, machinery and equipment, and metallurgy.
As Rio Grande do Sul accounts for 6.8% of the total Brazilian industry, the growth in June was, in addition to being the largest, the one with the greatest influence on national performance, which showed an expansion of 4.1% compared to May.
With the latest known results, the Rio Grande do Sul industry is 2.7% above the pre-pandemic level, a behavior similar to that of the national industry of 2.8%.
Although the recovery in June offset the drop in May, in the year to date, industrial production in Rio Grande do Sul has fallen by 1% and by 2.3% in the 12-month period. The national average grew by 2.6% in the year and 1.5% in 12 months.
States
Between May and July, Pará had the second highest increase, 9.7%. The mining and metallurgy sectors were the main responsible for the state’s positive result.
São Paulo, the country’s largest industrial park, grew 1.3% in the period, second only to Rio Grande do Sul in terms of positive influence.
“The food, petroleum derivatives, motor vehicles and pharmaceutical sectors were those that most influenced the behavior of the state’s industry”, highlights Bernardo Almeida.
This result leaves the São Paulo industry 3.6% above the pre-pandemic level.
On the decline side, the Northeast Region fell 6%, Bahia 5.4% and Pernambuco 5.2%, recorded the most expressive rates.
The IBGE calculates regional results in the 17 federation units with a share of at least 0.5% in the national industrial total, and for the Northeast as a whole.
