Economy of Pernambuco

Last updated June 21, 2020

The economy of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco is based on agriculture, animal husbandry and industries. The economy of the state, after stagnating from 1985 and 1995, has been growing rapidly since the end of the twentieth century. In 2000, the GDP per capita was R$3.673 ($2098), resulting in more than 40% growth in this period, and more than 10% in a year. In 2007, the GDP per capita grew up to R$7.337 ($4.217).

Since the beginning of the Portuguese domain, the state was basically agriculture based, being one of the biggest sugar cane producers in the country. This is due to the weather and the soil, which is massapê. However, the state is now diversifying its economy; the production of alcohol and sugar (even being the 5th largest Brazilian producer) from the sugar cane is no longer as dominant as it used to be.

The biggest industries are related to food production, cars, shipbuilding, oil refining, chemistry, pharmaceutical (Goiana), textile (Caruaru), electric materials, communication, metallurgy, non-metallic minerals (such as gypsum in Araripina) and tourism. It also plays an important role in fruit productions along the São Francisco River, which is almost totally destined to exportation- mainly concentrated in Petrolina due to its international airport that has a big capacity for receiving cargo airplanes. Gravatá, which is a fast-growing town in the state, is one of the main temperate flower producers in the Northeast.

Agricultural products

Between the major agricultural products cultivated in Pernambuco we can found cotton, banana, beans, sugar-cane, onion, cassava, corn, tomato and grape. In the husbandry, the major domesticated types of animals are cattle, swine, goat-antelope and galliformes. An important point to be made is the growth which the region is seeing after the 70's in the irrigated agriculture in the Sertão do São Francisco.

Industry and technology

Between 1997 and 1999, Suape - a big industrial and portuary complex of the southern littoral of Pernambuco- had a 16,7% growth. The state has the second biggest industrial production in the Northeast, being second to Bahia. From October 2005 to October 2006, Pernambuco had the second biggest industrial growth in Brazil - 6,3%, which is more than twice the national average in that period (2,3%).^[1]

Another sector which needs to be mentioned is the mineral extraction. Araripina produces 95% of the plaster consumed in the country. The textile sector plays also one important role in cities such as Caruaru and neighborhoods.

The informatics center in Recife – the Porto Digital – was created a few years ago and it is already between the five biggest in Brazil. It employs about 3,000 people, and has 3.5% participation in the GDP of the state.^[2] In 2007, the Digital Port was distinguished as the best Brazilian technological/innovation Park, between the Innovation prize attributed by the Brazilian National Association of Innovation and entrepreneurship (Anprotec).^[3]

Suape Port

Suape port is a Brazilian international port located among the municipalities of Ipojuca and Cabo de Santo Agostinho, inside the Recife metropolitan area and distant 40 km South of the capital (Recife). Suape serves ships 365 days a year without any restriction with regard to tidal schedules. Suape is one of the most important harbour and container terminals in northeast of Brazil playing an important role in the economy of the state of Pernambuco ^[4] and responsibly for the economic state euphoria due to the construction of a large Petrobras refinery, a petrochemical pole, the largest ship builder in South America and many related and general industries around its 13.5 km² of industrial park. Suape has started in the 21st century to be Pernambuco's motive power toward development. Huge national and international investments are being attracted by its logistic qualities, of which, until 2010, more than US$10 billion are expected.

New investments

Since 2005 Pernambuco has received many large and small public and private investments, mainly due to Suape port, general logistics, Government strategy of decentralization and geographical position of itself and the capital in the Northeast.

Abreu e Lima Refinery. Owned by Petrobras and PDVSA (40%).
Atlantico Sul Shipbuilder, the largest one on the South Atlantic Ocean. 1,2B USD$ invested and 5000 direct jobs.
Petrochemical pole, with 3 integrated companies to produce Partially Oriented Yarn (POY), PTA & PET. Total investments of 2.3B USD$ and 1800 direct jobs upon completion.
Gerdau and CSN large steel-making plants.
Bunge wheat factory-processor, 850000 tons of annual capacity.
Novartis and Hemobrás pharmo-chemical plants in Goiana.Total investments up to 700M USD$ and 515 direct jobs.
Sadia & Perdigão food factories in Bom Conselho and Vitória de Santo Antão. Total investments up to 150M USD$ and 950 direct jobs.
Ecological Resorts in Paiva and Porto (Barreiros) beaches.
Many mediums and small investments especially on the Suape complex.

Main cities

**List of the 25 largest cities in Pernambuco**^[5]
Ranking	City	Population (2009)	GDP (R$x1000)(2006).^[6]	GDP PC (R$)
1	Recife	1,561,659	20,718,107	13,510
2	Jaboatão dos Guararapes	687,688	5,578,363	8,384
3	Olinda	397,268	2,179,183	5,567
4	Paulista	319,373	1,367,111	4,449
5	Caruaru	298,501	1,993,295	6,895
6	Petrolina	281,851	1,932,517	7,202
7	Cabo de Santo Agostinho	171,583	2,813,188	17,244
8	Camaragibe	143,210	492,113	3,608
9	Garanhuns	131,313	742,593	5,941
10	Vitória de Santo Antão	126,399	745,504	6,149
11	Igarassu	100,191	734,430	7,834
12	São Lourenço da Mata	99,945	310,748	3,261
13	Abreu e Lima	96,266	567,474	6,154
14	Santa Cruz do capibaribe	80,330	332,112	4,507
15	Serra Talhada	80,294	434,704	5,705
16	Araripina	79,877	255,578	3,368
17	Ipojuca	75,512	5,354,635	76,418
18	Gravatá	75,229	306,637	4,284
19	Goiana	74,424	457,986	6,379
20	Belo Jardim	74,028	504,735	7,113
21	Carpina	68,070	351,448	5,375
22	Arcoverde	68,000	290,529	4,479
23	Ouricuri	66,978	200,880	3,186
24	Pesqueira	64,454	236,259	3,852
25	Escada	62,604	233,562	3,902
RMR	Recife metropolitan area	3,768,902	40,872,963	10,845
State	PERNAMBUCO	8,810,256	62,255,687	7,337

Related Research Articles

Recife is the fourth-largest urban area in Brazil with 4,054,866 inhabitants, the largest urban area of the North/Northeast Regions, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco in the northeast corner of South America. The population of the city proper was 1,625,583 in 2016. The first slave port in the Americas, Recife was founded in 1537, during the early Portuguese colonization of Brazil, as the main harbor of the Captaincy of Pernambuco, known for its large scale production of sugar cane. It was the former capital Mauritsstad of the 17th century colony of New Holland of Dutch Brazil, established by the Dutch West India Company. The city is located at the confluence of the Beberibe and Capibaribe rivers before they flow into the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a major port on the Atlantic. Its name is an allusion to the stone reefs that are present by the city's shores. The many rivers, small islands and over 50 bridges found in Recife city centre characterise its geography and led to the city being called the "Brazilian Venice". As of 2010, it is the capital city with the highest HDI in Northeast Brazil and second highest HDI in the entire North and Northeast Brazil.

Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. The state of Pernambuco also includes the archipelago Fernando de Noronha. With an estimated population of 9.2 million people in 2013, it is the seventh most populous state of Brazil, and is the sixth most densely populated and the 19th most extensive among the states and territories of the country. Its capital and largest city, Recife, is one of the most important economic and urban hubs in the country. As of 2013 estimates, Recife's metropolitan area is the fifth most populous in the country, and the largest urban agglomeration in Northeast Brazil.

Caruaru is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. The most populous city in the interior of the state, Caruaru is located in the microzone of Agreste and because of its cultural importance, it is nicknamed Capital do Agreste, Princesinha do Agreste, and Capital do Forró.

Goiana is a city in Brazil in the northeast of the state of Pernambuco, about 65 km north of the city of Recife.

Carpina is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil. Its economy is based on commerce and footwear industry. Its current mayor is Manoel Botafogo.

Petrolina is a city located in the southernmost point of the state of Pernambuco, in Brazil. The population was 349,145 in 2019 in a total area of 4,756.8 km², which makes it the largest and the most important municipality in the state by area.

Igarassu is a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is the second oldest city of the country and is situated on the north coast of the metropolitan region of Recife, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi). It stands as one of the earliest European settlements in Brazil and is the site of the oldest church in the country, the Church of Saints Cosme and Damião, built in 1535. Igarassu is home to numerous colonial-period historic structures. The historic center of the city was designated a national monument by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1972.

Cabo de Santo Agostinho is 35 km south of the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Although the official Portuguese discovery of Brazil was by Pedro Álvares Cabral on April 21, 1500, some historians believe that Vicente Yáñez Pinzón already had set anchor in a bay in Cabo de Santo Agostinho on January 26, 1500, which he named Cabo de Santa María de la Consolación. It was incorporated as a town in 1811.

Araripina is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population in 2009 of 79.877 inhabitants according with IBGE. Total area of 1.847,5 km² and is located in the state mesoregion of Sertão, at 622 meters above the sea level and 683 km West from the state capital, Recife. The exploration of gypsum and calcarium is the base of the local economy and at the homonymous microregion.

Belo Jardim a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population in 2009 of 74.028. Total area of 647.7 km². It is located at 608 meters above the sea level and 182 km away from the state capital, Recife.

Ipojuca is a municipality in Pernambuco in eastern Brazil. As of 2009 the population according to IBGE was 75,512 and the per capita income (2007) was R$76.418 making it one of the country's highest. The settlement dates to 1560, but the official founding date is 1861 and the community was incorporated as a town in 1864. It is famous for its beaches such as Porto de Galinhas, Muro Alto, Maracaipe.

Itapissuma is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is integrated in the Recife metropolitan area with another 13 cities. Itapissuma has a total area of 74.25 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 24.406 inhabitants in 2009 according to the IBGE. The city has the best children's mortality rate in the metropolitan area and has also the second highest GDP per capita after Ipojuca.

Ouricuri is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is located in the mesoregion of Sertão Pernambucano. Ouricuri has a total area of 2,423 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 66,978 inhabitants in 2009 according to the IBGE.

Suape Port is a Brazilian International Port in the city of Ipojuca in the state of Pernambuco. The port is located inside the Recife metropolitan area, 40 km south of the city. Suape is a non-tidal port that services ships 365 days a year. It is one of the most important harbours and container terminals in the northeast of Brazil. It plays an important role in the economy of the state of Pernambuco. In the 21st century Suape became Pernambuco's main focus for development.

Ferreiros is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, 118 km from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco, with an estimated population of 11,456 inhabitants.

Camutanga is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 120 km from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population of 8.214 people and one of the strongest GDP per capita of Zona da mata Pernambucana.

Itambé is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 99 km away from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population of 36.126 inhabitants.

Itaquitinga is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 84 km away from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population of 15.507 inhabitants.

Condado is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 69.3 km away from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population of 24.403 inhabitants.

Trindade is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The population in 2009, according with IBGE was 26.250 inhabitants and the total area is 229.57 km².

References

↑ Folha de Pernambuco/IBGE. "Estado tem 2° melhor desempenho do ano no país".
↑ O Globo - RJ. "Porto Digital torna Recife um pólo de informática". Archived from the original on 2012-12-31.
↑ Anprotec. "Vitória do Movimento. In: Revista Locus, Setembro/2007. pág.14" (PDF).
↑ "SUAPE - Port and Industrial Complex". Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
↑ IBGE, http://www.ibge.gov.br/
↑ GDP City by City 2006 IBGE Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

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[crescimento_industrial-1] Folha de Pernambuco/IBGE. "Estado tem 2° melhor desempenho do ano no país".

[porto_digital-2] O Globo - RJ. "Porto Digital torna Recife um pólo de informática". Archived from the original on 2012-12-31.

[Anprotec-3] Anprotec. "Vitória do Movimento. In: Revista Locus, Setembro/2007. pág.14" (PDF).

[4] "SUAPE - Port and Industrial Complex". Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2010-01-01.

[População_IBGE-5] IBGE, http://www.ibge.gov.br/

[6] GDP City by City 2006 IBGE Archived October 3, 2011, at the Wayback Machine