Yet again, Ceará GDP has outpaced Brazil’s economic growth on all accounts. The state economy posted significant increases in almost all sectors and is looking forward to a strong year. Analysts attribute the performance of the Ceará economy to solid policies and the state’s appeal to investors.
GDP growth in Q4 2021
The latest report published by IPECE, the state economic research centre, reveals that Ceará GDP went up by 3.44% in Q4 last year. The figure is well ahead of the national growth, which ended the year on 1.65%.
For the year as a whole, Ceará saw an increase of 6.63% in GDP, again considerably more than Brazil as a whole. National GDP growth reached 4.6% last year.
Commenting on the latest GDP statistics, the Governor of Ceará Camilo Santana said, “the growth was excellent news and showed that the state is on the right track”.
For the Secretary of Economic Development, Maia Júnior, the result was the consequence of “the new policy of development focused on reducing social inequality”. “We’re harvesting the fruits of hard work, particularly in attracting investment, creating employment and opening new companies,” he said.
Services lead Ceará GDP in 2021
The star performer within the Ceará economy in 2021 was undoubtedly the services sector. It grew by 18% in the final quarter of the year, the third consecutive increase and almost double the national figure.
Leading services were those for families (up 26.8%), information and communication (up 21.9%) and transport (up 21.4%). Tourism also recorded impressive growth with a 19.4% increase.
Ceará industry strong in 2021
In terms of comparison with national figures, the industrial sector registered the best performance in Ceará. It saw growth of 13.55% in 2021, over triple the national rate (4.5%).
Utilities posted the highest increase with an uptick of 29.32%. Civil construction, boosted by the buoyant market for real estate in Ceará, went up by 15.06%.
For its part, Pecem Port registered its highest level of exports ever in 2021. The total exceeded 22.4 million tonnes in 2021, up 40.7% on 2020.
Solid forecast for 2022
Brazil as a whole is predicted to see lacklustre growth this year with the most optimistic forecasts pointing to 0.5% increase in GDP. Ceará, on the other hand, is looking forward to an increase of at least 1.25%, close to three times higher than the national figure.
(Source: IPECE)
