SP Industrial activity and supermarkets sales grow in January
Valor Econômico - 03/04/2009
Two activity indexes revealed a positive result in January. The Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp) registered a 6.2% increase in the Index that shows the Level of Activity (INA) compared to December 2008, in the series with seasonal adjustment. The sales of the supermarket sector, also in January, increased 6.54%, compared to the same month of 2008, according to the National Sales Index, released on a monthly basis by the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras). Compared to December 2008, however, there was a 22.96% decline, since the period, because of the New Year parties, pushes the sales up. Fiesp did not commemorate the January result because the improvement occurred in comparison to the last quarter of 2008, when the production decreased 20%. Compared to January 2008, the data is negative - a 15.7% fall compared to the same month of last year. "The data shows we are back at the level of activity featured in the second half of 2006", completed Francini. According to him, if the industry of São Paulo wants the results from 2009 to be even with those from 2008, it needs to grow at an average of 2.1% every month of the year, in the non-seasonal data. "In order for us only to be even with last year, our industry will have a very hard task ahead", affirmed the director. For the sector of supermarkets, however, the result was considered good. "The fall in the sales in relation to December is normal, because the last month of the year is the period with the greatest sales in the supermarkets. Besides, January is a month favorable to offers and clearance sales. The good news is that we kept the increase in relation to January 2008. That because the average income of the worker kept the trajectory of increase. The reflexes of the crisis have not yet gotten to the Brazilian dining tables", assessed the president of the Abras, Sussumu Honda.