IBGE data shows that agriculture continues to grow even during the pandemic

Agriculture showed growth of 0,6% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, according to data released this Friday (29) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). from the country. The sector was the only one in national economic activity to grow in the period analyzed.

In relation to the same period of the previous year, in this case the first quarter, agriculture grew by 1,9%. “This result can be explained, mainly, by the performance of some crop products with a relevant harvest in the first quarter, such as soybeans, and by productivity, visible in the estimated variation in the quantity produced vis-à-vis the planted area”, he says. the IBGE. The country's GDP contracted by 1,5% in the first three months of the year compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) has highlighted the actions adopted by Mapa and other federal government bodies to guarantee the internal supply of food, exports of agricultural products and the uninterrupted functioning of the agricultural production chain during the pandemic .

“We have been successful with this because, in addition to the great crop that was harvested this summer, we have had logistics absolutely normalized. Therefore, in addition to supplying the 212 million Brazilians, we have also managed to fulfill our mission as food providers in the world”, said the minister, when participating in review of actions to combat the impacts of coronavirus on the 26th of this month, at Palácio do Planalto.

The Federal Government has also worked to open markets for Brazilian agricultural products. Since January 2019, there have been more than 60 open markets for the most diverse products, such as baru nuts for South Korea, melon for China (the first Brazilian fruit for the Asian country), sesame for India, Brazil nuts (also known as Brazil nuts) to Saudi Arabia and genetic material. Agribusiness exports reached a record value in April, surpassing the US$10 billion barrier for the first time in the month.

Soy and rice

The growth recorded by agriculture can be attributed to several factors. "The first is the performance of crops and livestock, which have achieved exceptional growth this year. IBGE highlights the performance of soybean and rice production, which have shown high production growth. Productivity was also a relevant factor in these results . The results of the Trade Balance, published by Mapa, in March, showed that external agricultural sales grew by 17,5% on a daily average basis in the first four months of the year, compared to the same period in the previous year. This was another factor that boosted growth", analyzes José Garcia Gasques, general coordinator of Information Policy Assessment at Mapa.

According to the coordinator, the growth in agricultural GDP was also reflected in the net balance of formal jobs generated this year. Caged statistics show that there was a balance (admissions minus dismissals) of 10.032 hires.

High in 2020

Despite the new coronavirus pandemic, the GDP of the Brazilian agricultural sector is expected to increase by 2,5% in 2020. The forecast is from the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), based on data from IBGE. Taking into account the grain harvest estimated by the National Supply Company (Conab), the rate should reach 2,3%. Even in a scenario with a greater risk of impact from Covid-19 on the demand for agricultural products, researchers project an increase, at a slower pace, of 1,3%.

For the 2019/20 harvest, the estimate for grain production is 250,9 million tons, a volume 3,6% (8,8 million tons) higher than that harvested in 2018/19, according to the 8th Survey of the 2019/20 Harvest released on the 12th, by Conab.