Some of the Country’s main businessmen, led by Paulo Skaf, president of the State of São Paulo Federation of Industries (FIESP), pledged to Finance Minister Guido Mantega March 1st that they are prepared to increase the national productive capacity and to meet an increase in consumption and exports in the country. At a meeting at Fiesp headquarters in São Paulo, Mantega learned about the industrial sector’s investment plans for 2010 and heard old demands of producers, like reducing taxes and increasing credit lines.

After talking with the business sector, Mantega gave a press conference and portrayed what he had just experienced. According to him, demand inflation of the Brazilian industry is definitively ruled out because the domestic industry, guided by São Paulo, operated with excess capacity in 2009. "Therefore, there is no difficulty for industry to meet demand."

Possible candidate for governor of the state by the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), Paulo Skaf used numbers to show industry’s investments in productive capacity. According to him, besides a 10% increase in fixed capacity by the 2009 investments, entrepreneurs calculate an increase in production by up to 15% this year with new applications.

Despite the corresponding positions, Fiesp and the Federal Government differ in expected growth in the industrial sector in 2010. Mantega believes industry’s estimate of around 12% growth is optimistic and that the economic summit in Brasilia forecasts an increase of 8% this year.

Among the big names who attended the meeting were the presidents of Odebrecht, Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht, Grupo Cutrale, José Luis Cutrale, Coteminas, Josué Christiano Gomes da Silva, and Moinho Pacífico, Lawrence Pih.

Agribusiness
Fiesp reports that the Agribusiness Superior Council (Cosag) will prepare a concrete proposal for agribusiness public policy and deliver it to the presidency candidates, major state governments, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The expectation is that the project will be ready in August.

According to former agriculture minister and president of Cosag, Roberto Rodrigues, productive chains and industry associations in the sector will be heard, mainly as regards income policy and minimum prices for the field and the logistics structure and opening international markets. The idea is to resume Doha Round discussions and rouse bilateral agreements.