The poor performance of this division was explained by: the drop in oilseed crushing due to a high comparison base in January 2021 after the normalization of activity after the union force measure in December 2020; the reduction in wine exports due to delays at the border with Chile due to changes in customs protocols, and the drop in beef due to the reduction in exports to China.
At the same time, the automotive sector (-18.3%) and non-metallic mineral products (-8.6%) also had a significant contribution to the decline in industry, the latter highly dependent on construction, a sector that contracted 5 Annual %, under the negative effect of the large number of rainy days that occurred in the central area during the second fortnight of the month.
At the other extreme, the divisions that most cushioned the decline were chemical substances and products (+8.2% annually), clothing (+18.6%), and machinery and equipment (+8.6%).
The reasons that explained the drop in the INDEC Industrial Production Index (IPI) in the first month of the year were several. First of all, the resurgence of Covid-19 infections caused a strong absenteeism in companies.
In second instance, many factories made regular technical stops for vacationswhich in 2021 had occurred mainly in February. In addition, the aforementioned rains and power outages also impacted production.
The Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas, assured that the drop in January is not worrying since the preliminary data for February are once again positive.
“According to data on energy consumption in factories, we forecast industrial growth of more than 4% year-on-year in February. Sector data goes in that direction. Automotive production grew 73% compared to February 2021 and 15% compared to 2019. It was the best February in 4 years. Meanwhile, cement shipments grew 16% year-on-year in February and were the highest in history for that month,” he explained.
Source: Ambito
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