The result is the highest since 2004, when the GDP, i.e. the sum of all wealth produced in the country, grew 5.7%. The growth rate confirms the expectation of the minister of Finance, Guido Mantega, that the economy would grow at a rate above 5%.
From the third to the fourth quarter last year, the GDP grew 1.6%. According to the IBGE, in 2007 agriculture (5.3%) performed best, followed by industry (4.9%) and services (4.7%).
The growth of agriculture was mostly driven by the crop, the highlights being wheat (62.3%), vegetable cotton (33.5%), corn beans (20.9%), sugarcane (13,2%) and soy (11.1%).
The products that saw a reduction in the crop were coffee beans (-16.7%), rough rice (-3.7%) and beans (-4.4%).
Growing Investment
Investment in the country in 2007 grew 13.4%, the highest annual rate since 1996, when the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) started conducting surveys. Data from the Quarterly National Accounts, show that family consumption expenditures increased for the fourth year in a row.
Last year the increase was 6.5%, favored by the 3.6% rise in workers' wage mass. Public administration consumption expenditures grew 3.1% in 2007. Exports rose 6.6%, and imports, 20.7%. According to the IBGE, since 2006, exports have been growing at a lower rate than imports.
ABr