SC economy grows 5.1% in February, encouraged by interest, exports and domestic consumption

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Florianópolis, 05/09/24 – Santa Catarina’s economic activity grew 5.1% in the second month of the year, compared to February last year. The percentage is above the Brazilian average, of 2.6% in the same period. According to an analysis by the FIESC Observatory, the performance was motivated by the cycle of interest rate reduction in Brazil and the maintenance of family consumption, in addition to growth in exports.

The industry grew 6.6% in Santa Catarina in February, compared to the same month in 2023. The electrical equipment sector grew 21.3% in the period, while the machinery and equipment segment advanced 3.7%, both encouraged by downward trajectory of the Selic, which favors the acquisition of capital goods.

“The industry’s contribution to Santa Catarina’s economic activity was also due to the state’s record volume of exports in the first quarter of 2024. The sale abroad of technology-intensive capital goods grew 11.3% from January to March this year and boosted the economy of Santa Catarina”, stated the president of the Federation of Industries of SC, Mario Cezar de Aguiar.

Economist Camila Morais, from the FIESC Observatory, highlights that external demand in the timber sector also contributed to performance, with an expansion of 13.5% in February, compared to the same month in 2023. “The best conditions for the construction industry in The United States has increased exports in the sector and also sales of electric motors”, he highlighted.

Camila also explained that exports of liquid pumps, machines and mechanical devices with their own function and agricultural machinery to Latin American countries also contributed to performance.

Household consumption
The growth in economic activity in Santa Catarina also reflected the positive impact of maintaining the level of household consumption in the domestic market, which favored the growth of food production. The textile products industry expanded driven, among other things, by the manufacture of knitted fabrics to meet the new autumn/winter collections.

Other sectors

According to analysis by the FIESC Observatory, trade had the biggest change in February compared to the second month of last year, with an expansion of 11.3%. The result also reflected the cycle of falling interest rates and the maintenance of a high level of family consumption. Sales of household appliances, for example, grew 18.4%, the sixth consecutive expansion compared to the same month of the previous year.

In this scenario, emphasis is also placed on the sale of vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, with an increase of 22.7% in the period. This activity boosted the sale of fuels and lubricants, which grew 4.8% in the period analyzed. The improvement in conditions of access to credit and the drop in prices encouraged an increase in sales of construction materials, which grew 5.0% in February.

The sale of equipment and materials for office, IT and communication also increased, by 19.5% in February, compared to the same month of the previous year, influenced by the expansion of administrative activities and complementary services, which involve labor rental and office services.

The services segment grew 8.4% in the second month of 2024 compared to 2023, also driven by high household consumption, which boosted transport and storage services, which grew 9.3% in the interannual analysis, especially road freight transport .