Water crisis will shrink Brazil’s GDP by 0.11 % this year – CNI estimate

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The water crisis in Brazil, the worst in almost a century, will cause losses of R$8.2 billion (US$1.464 billion) in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, which means a drop of 0.11%, weighed down by the price of electricity, triggered by the lack of rainfall.

The estimate is from the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), which points out that the high cost of electricity will also cause household consumption to fall this year by R$7 billion ($1.25 billion), exports to fall by 0.23%, and at least 166,000 jobs to be lost in the country, according to a study released on Wednesday, November 3.