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05/30/2011 11h37

Production of processed goods should grow more than the economy until 2012

DCI

The Brazilian Plastics Industry Association (Abiplast) bets on growth of 6% in the production of plastics this year. For 2012, the forecast is growth of 5%, both indicators are above the growth forecast of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the respective years. The apparent consumption of processed plastics should get to 6.4 million tons in 2011 and 6.9 million tons next year.

According to the President of the entity, José Ricardo Roriz Coelho, the outlook for the sector is positive. Even with the optimistic tone, the forecast is that the sales fall back to nearly  R$ 35 billion (US$ 21.9 billion) in 2011, a 14.6% fall compared to the R$ 41 billion (US$ 23.3 billion) registered in 2010. Imports should continue growing, reaching 700 thousand tons.

For Roriz, the heated domestic demand will also help to increase the participation of the imports in the sector. Last year, the national market was responsible for processing more than 5.9 million tons of thermoplastic resins, which resulted in an average growth of 9%. "The trade balance will continue in deficit" he said. Besides the imports that last year totaled more than US$ 2.8 billion compared to nearly US$ 1.4 billion in exports of processed plastics, another concern regards the cost of the main raw material: oil.

Roriz explains that with the high price of oil the resins get more expensive and the end product follows the increase in the prices that leads to loss of profits due to not transferring the whole price increase. Last year, the earnings of the Brazilian plastics transformation industry, driven by the domestic consumption, grew 17% compared to 2009, going from R$ 35 billion (US$ 17.8 billion) to R$ 41 billion (US$ 23.3 billion).

The apparent consumption (domestic sales plus imports), on its turn, totaled 6.2 million tons of plastics, increase of 20% compared to 2009. The main sectors that boosted the demand were food, construction and other packaging. Of the total, 10% were supplied by the imports.