Brazil agribusiness output down again in August over same month in 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The drop reached 3.2% when compared to the same month in 2020, taking into account seasonal adjustments, and 0.4% over July. Nevertheless, the indicator accumulated a positive variation of 3.8% in the first 8 months of 2021 and should close the year with an increase over 2020.

“The gap in relation to the pre-pandemic month has been increasing. That is, agribusiness output in July 2021 was 4.7% lower than in February 2020; in August, the difference reached 5.1%,” reported FGV Agro.

PIMAgro is based on data from IBGE’s Monthly Industrial Survey (PIM-PF) and variations in the Central Bank’s Economic Activity Index (IBC-BR), the exchange rate, and FGV’s Manufacturing Industry Entrepreneur Confidence Index (ICI).

“Because of the turbulence caused by the pandemic, agribusiness (like other industrial links) is faced with rising costs, disorganization of the production chain, and difficulty in accessing certain raw materials. The inflationary process continues to reduce the real income of families, the labor market is still sluggish, and the slowdown of the Brazilian and global economies, have negatively impacted the sector,” the FGV center notes.

Once again, the decline of PIMAgro in August, compared to the same month last year, was driven by the food and beverage segment, which fell 7.2%. In the case of food, the drop reached 7.3%, and 6.4% for beverages. There was an increase in the non-food products group, but the variation observed (1.6%) was the lowest in the year.