SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Most of Rio Grande do Sul’s industrial plants remain shut or operating at very low rates as the Brazilian state reels from the floods, with the restart at the Triunfo petrochemicals hub an exception rather than the norm, a chemicals consultant at MaxiQuim said to ICIS.
Mauricio Jaroski, a director at the Porto Alegre-based consultancy, said Rio Grande do Sul’s economy is likely to take a big hit from the floods, with the recovery taking up to a decade.
The consultant said that the picture in the state remains dire. Hundreds of roads remain blocked, the Port of Porto Alegre – the state’s largest city – remains shut and the Port of Pelotas only reopened this week.
He said the hit to industrial companies based in the state will be large and long-lasting.
Jaroski, chemicals engineer himself and native of Rio Grande do Sul, said he fears the recovery will take many years, and Rio Grande do Sul may become another New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Published by: www.icis.com
Jonathan Lopez
24-May-2024
