The prices of the national industry registered a negative change of 0.62% in March over February (-0.12%), the second consecutive month of drop after a series of 12 positive figures in a row. Therefore, the Producer Price Index (IPP) rose 8.37% in 12 months, whereas the cumulative index in the year stayed at -0.59%. The monthly rate had been 0.35% in March 2024.

The Producer Price Index (IPP) of the Mining and Manufacturing Industries measures the evolution of the prices of products "at the factory gate", free from taxes and freight, and encompasses the broad economic categories.

In March 2025, ten out of 24 industrial activities recorded negative price changes when compared with the previous month, following the change of the overall industry. In February this year, 12 activities had shown higher average prices in relation to January 2025. The data were released today (8) by the IBGE.

"There are several factors. The negative changes in the prices of food - particularly frozen beef, the product with the highest weight in the sector - are a factor that mostly explains that movement. In the comparison with the previous month, it is worth mentioning that the food sector is the major influence - always negative - in all the months of the first quarter. Basic metals is another sector that accumulated positive changes throughout 2024 and became negative in the beginning of 2025. In both cases (and not only them, as it affects exporting sectors, like tobacco for example), the valuation of the real against the dollar (0.3% in March against April and 5.7% in the first quarter) is a factor that reduces prices," explains Alexandre Brandão, Manager of Analysis and Methodology of the Division of Short-Term Statistics in Enterprises.

Food was the industrial sector that mostly stood out in the composition of the aggregated result in the price comparison between March and February. That activity accounted for -0.34 percentage points (p.p.) of influence on the change of -0.62% of the overall industry. Still in this topic, other activities that also stood out were mining and quarrying industries, with -0.16 p.p. of influence, basic metals (-0.13 p.p.) and petroleum refining and biofuels (-0.06 p.p.).

The food sector (-1.35%) negatively changed for the third consecutive month, being the most intense change since June 2023 (-3.30%). With that result, the cumulative index in the year changed from -1.65% in February to -2.98% in March. Concerning the cumulative change in 12 months, the result of 12.89% in March 2025 was the lowest one in the first quarter of 2025. Among 24 activities surveyed, that of food ranked at the top of the influence on the monthly change (-0.34 p.p.) and also on the cumulative index in the year (-0.77 p.p.) and in 12 months (3.11 p.p.).

Still in the case of food, Alexandre Brandão highlights that "in the monthly comparison, three groups registered a negative price change, all of them more intense than the average index (-1.35%) in the sector: slaughter and manufacture of beef products (-3.27%), manufacture of animal and vegetal fats and oils (-3.91%) and grinding, manufacture of starchy products and of pet food (-2.61%)."

The activity of mining and quarrying industries (-3.61%) reported the most intense change among them, both in the comparison with February (-3.61%) and in the cumulative index in the year (-8.26%). Having changed -8.61%, the cumulative index in 12 months was the only activity on the negative side. Moreover, that activity also exerted the second biggest influence on the monthly change (-0.16 p.p. out of -0.62%) and on the cumulative index in the year (-0.40 p.p. out of -0.59%).

"This sector usually follows the foreign market, whose main products (in weight) of the sector - crude petroleum oil and iron ore - are dropping. In Brazil, that drop is more intense due to the valuation of the real against the dollar. However, it is worth mentioning that the prices of copper ore increased in March, due to the closure of important mines abroad," highlights Brandão.

As the sector with the fourth biggest influence on the overall result in March (-0.06 p.p. out of -0.62%), the prices of petroleum refining and biofuels negatively changed in March (-0.58%). As a result, the cumulative index in the year retreated from 3.89% in February to 3.28% in March. On the other hand, the cumulative index in 12 months stayed at 8.11%, the lowest one in the quarter (8.14% in January and 9.75% in February).

Among the broad economic categories, the price changes in March over February 2025, which was -0.62% in the overall industry, were the following: 0.10% in capital goods (BK), -0.84% in intermediate goods (BI), and -0.44% in consumer goods (BC), being the change reported in durable consumer goods (BCD) of -0.11% and that in semi and non-durable consumer goods (BCND) of -0.50%. Intermediate goods are the major influence on the three indicators computed: monthly (-0.46 p.p. out of -0.62%); cumulative index in the year (-0.61 p.p. out of -0.59%); and cumulative index in 12 months (4.05 p.p. out of 8.37%).

Know more about the IPP

The IPP aims at measuring the average change of sale prices received by the domestic producers of goods and services, as well as their evolution over time, signaling the short-term inflationary trends in Brazil. It is a key indicator for the macroeconomic follow up and, consequently, a valuable analytical instrument for decision makers, either public or private.

The survey investigates, in a few more than 2,100 enterprises, the prices received by producers, free from tax, tariffs and freight, defined according to the most usual commercial practices. Nearly 6 thousand prices are collected monthly. The complete IPP tables are available on Sidra. The next release of the IPP, related to April, will be on June 6.