After registering a 2.2% contraction in February 2026, the volume of agro-industrial production grew 2.9% in March, compared to the same month in 2025, according to the Agro-industrial Production Index (PIMAgro) from FGVAgro. It is worth noting, however, that March 2026 had a greater number of working days (22) compared to the same month in 2025 (19). This difference may have favored the sector's performance, but may also have created some distortion in the month's statistics. Even with the fluctuations that occurred between January and March 2026, Brazilian agro-industry managed to accumulate growth of 0.4% during the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period of the previous year. This expansion was derived from the Food Products (2.6%) and Beverages (3.3%) sectors and would have been even more intense were it not for the 2.7% contraction in the Non-Food Products segment. It is important to highlight that the positive performance of the Agroindustry in the first quarter of 2026 was fundamental in preventing the Manufacturing Industry (0.0%) from operating in negative territory during the same period. In fact, of the 23 segments that comprise the Manufacturing Industry, 14 registered contraction during the period – the segments associated with Food Products, Beverages, and Biofuels are among the few that showed growth. The Agroindustry is not disconnected from the dynamics of the rest of the Brazilian economy; an economy driven by household consumption, even at the cost of high interest rates that, in turn, compress the margins of various industrial sectors. In addition to the domestic market, Agroindustry exports have also provided additional relief to the sector, with positive externalities for the rest of the Manufacturing Industry.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.