Rádio Eldorado/Estadão - Brazilian Food Industry: 10.9% of GDP and growing!
Publicado em 12/03/2026
Divulgação
Prof. Tejon alongside João Dornellas, Executive President of ABIA
Published on March 06, 2026
Agriconscient Show – Broadcast by Radio Eldorado Estadão – Brazil
*José Luiz Tejon
Translated/Copydesk by Teacher Francisco Barbosa Bardhal
I'm at ABIA (the Brazilian Food Industry Association) alongside its Executive President, Mr. João Dornellas, who delivered an excellent presentation on the results of Brazil’s food industry in 2025.
I asked him how food sector performed over the past year, and he told me:
“In 2025, the industry maintained very significant growth in Brazil. For the first time, we reached a revenue level of 1 trillion and 388 billion BRL, combining both domestic and international markets, an extremely expressive figure that also led us, for the first time, to represent 10.9% of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is, itself, another very important milestone.
There are 42,000 companies, from the North to the South of the country, which generated more jobs last year. We're talking about 51,000 new jobs, which, when added to those we already had, brings us to 2 million and 125 thousand people working directly in companies, factories, and within the food industry.
At this very moment, food is being produced from North to South across the country. Something very important is that this number refers to people formally employed in factories, under official labor contracts complying with Brazil’s CLT labor legislation.
In addition to this, according to projections by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), even using conservative estimates, for every one of our workers, there are four more in the supply chain and these chains vary.
For example, in dairy production the ratio can reach one job inside the factory for every eleven jobs in the broader chain.
But, considering a ratio of one to four, we're talking about 10.6 million people involved in the sector, I mean ,working in factories, transporting products from the field to the table, moving goods from factories to supermarkets, producing packaging, and more. In other words, there are 10.6 million people working in connection with food production.”
Standing for 10.9% of Brazil’s GDP effectively means being the locomotive of agribusiness, which continued growth in 2025 despite of all the impacts of the tariff pressures we faced,” commented Mr.Dornellas.
Now that 2026 has begun, I asked him about the outlook for the food sector given all the turbulence we're facing and he kindly responded:
“We're living in a different moment, delicate and concerning, because of the conflict in the Middle East, which may affect, for example, global energy prices. The entire world relies heavily on oil as energy source, and the Middle East is a region that produces large amounts of it. So we're all carefully following this situation with concern and hope that everything can be resolved as quickly as possible.
However, when we look at the projected growth in our domestic market in Brazil, and the expected expansion of the global economy in 2026, it leads us once again to forecast real growth close to 2% for the food industry in current year, which would be very positive.
Considering both Brazilian and global GDP, a 2% growth rate for the industry would be an excellent result,” Mr. Dornellas commented.
In Brazil, 62% of all agricultural production ultimately supplies its largest customer: the food and beverage industry. Then I asked Mr. Dornellas about the European Union–Mercosur agreement and whether it's positive for the food industry and he answered:
“It is very positive because when combining the European with the South American market/Mercosur, we're talking over a population of around 720 million consumers and this is a considerable large market.
Most importantly, it gives us access to a region of the world with 27 developed countries, generally with higher income levels and a strong demand for food.
Brazil’s food industry already exports to 190 countries and is respected in those markets because we comply with their sanitary regulations and standards. Being able to enter Europe with lower tariffs is extremely satisfying for us.
It's also beneficial for Brazilian consumers, who gain access to products manufactured in Europe,” our interviewee commented. To conclude, I asked him about the cost of Brazilian food products. Last year food prices rose 1.8%, compared to a 4.3% inflation rate, meaning the Brazilian food industry helped maintain food access for the population and Mr. Dornellas responded:
“Without a doubt, the industry was able to absorb a large portion of these costs. We experienced increases in energy costs, packaging materials, and raw materials, but the industry was able to manage absorbing them.
This is achieved by investing in productivity, efficiency and technology, so that we don't need to pass those costs on to consumers.
The food industry recorded much lower inflation in food prices than the overall national inflation rate, which means we contributed to keeping inflation under control,” he concluded.
Thank you very much, Mr. João Dornellas of ABIA. I conclude by reaffirming that the growing cooperation between Brazil’s industrial sector and the agricultural sector, hand in hand with science and technology, will keep driving the great success of our agroconscious future.
*José Luiz Tejon: PhD in Education from the Universidad de La Empresa/Uruguay, Master's degree in Education, Art and History of Culture from Mackenzie University, Journalist and advertising professional with specializations from Harvard, MIT, PACE/USA, and INSEAD in France. Columnist for Rádio Eldorado and Estadão On-line, and the author and co-author of 37 books. Academic Coordinator of the Master Science Food & Agribusiness Management program at Audencia in Nantes/France and FECAP/Brazil.Managing Partner at Biomarketing and TCA International. Vice-President of the Brazilian Marketing Foundation (FBM) and ADVB - the Brazilian Marketing Foundation and Association of Sales and Marketing Executives of Brazil. Head of Agro at ANEFAC. ABAG 2023 Agro Personality Award. Former director of Grupo Estadão, Agroceres, and Jacto S/A.
