Industrial output in Brazil dropped 0.1 percent in November after rising 0.3 percent in October, new official data shows. The sector is doing better than one year ago but is still 2.2 percent below pre-pandemic levels — and over 18 percent below its May 2011 peak.
Per André Macedo, industry survey manager at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, stimulus measures implemented by the Jair Bolsonaro government early in 2022 were unable to jolt the sector — generating merely a small spark.
“Still against a backdrop of high inflation, a high number of workers out of the labor market, job insecurity, and an income mass that advanced very little, the industrial sector once again showed a slowdown in pace,” Mr. Macedo said.
Fifteen of 26 segments recorded positive results in November. Among those, food producers stood out (+3.2 percent), thanks to the greater performance of sugarcane processors. For seasonal reasons, the beverages segment grew more than 10 percent with alcohol sales boosted by end-of-the-year festivities and the summer season.
These segments’ growth, however, was not enough to balance out the losses of extractive industries and electronic products (-1.5 and -6.5 percent, respectively).
The macroeconomic scenario remains unfavorable, as family consumption is not expected to rise soon, despite industrial inflation having dropped for four consecutive months. In November, industrial prices fell by 0.54 percent, driven by lower prices in the chemical and food industries.
Brazilian workers’ income has improved in recent months, up by almost 3 percent in the quarter through October against the previous rolling quarter. But indebtedness rates keep rising as interest rates remain at high levels. Almost 80 percent of Brazilians are in debt, while more than 30 percent are in default, a new record. These rates harm consumption, especially of durable goods.
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