The production of the Brazilian agroindustry dropped by 3.3 per cent in the first half of 2011, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). According to ANBA, the result is below that of the same period last year, when there was growth of six per cent, and below the performance of the industry as a whole in the first six months of 2011 (growth of 1.7 per cent).

According to data culled from the 'Physical Production Industrial Survey – Agroindustry', sectors linked to agriculture, including derivative products and those used in the activity and which have greater importance to the agroindustry, have declined by 3.1 per cent, and performed more poorly than the sectors linked to animal husbandry, which have grown by one per cent.

The main decline was recorded in production of agricultural derivatives (-4.7 per cent). Four out of eight sub-sectors that comprise the group have recorded slow-downs, especially sugarcane derivatives (-25.4 per cent), such as granulated sugar (-24.8 per cent) and ethanol (-27.7 per cent). These products have suffered from unfavourable weather conditions (drought during the plants' growth stage and excess rainfall, which postponed the harvest) and from the lack of investment in crop renewal during the period of the world financial crisis, which led to reduced productivity.

Other negative contributions were made by derivatives of wheat (-1.8 per cent), due to crop decline, of maize (-0.9 per cent) and orange (-59.7 per cent). There was growth in the case of derivatives of soy (1.4 per cent), driven by crop expansion; pulp (1.5 per cent); tobacco (7.0 per cent) and rice (17.9 per cent), a product geared mainly toward the domestic market, as a result of increased production.

The IBGE survey also points out that industrial products deriving from animal husbandry have remained virtually stable (-0.1 per cent) in the first six months of the year. There was growth in output of poultry products (0.5 per cent), sustained by both the domestic market and rising exports, and in production of beef and pork products (1.4 per cent).