Source: O Globo Online - Rio de Janeiro / RJ - 21/07/2010

São Paulo, Jul 21 (EFE) .- The informal economy generated R $ 578 billion in Brazil in 2009, a figure that represents 18,4% of the country's GDP, according to a study released this Wednesday by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and the Brazilian Institute of Competitive Ethics (ETCO).

“We are talking about almost R $ 600 billion, which are outside the formal Brazilian economy. To give you an idea of ​​the seriousness of this problem, just remember that Brazil's underground economy surpasses the entire Argentine economy ”, said André Franco Montoro, executive director of ETCO.

In 2003, when the study was presented for the first time, Brazil's informal economy generated R $ 357 billion, 21% of GDP.

The drop in relation to GDP reflects that, despite the increase in absolute terms of informal transactions, formal transactions rose even more.

The Brazilian economy grew 9% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2009, the biggest increase registered in a first quarter in the last 16 years.

This quarterly growth allows an annual growth of 10% to be projected for the country, but economists' forecasts are that the pace will start to slow down in the coming months, and that Brazil will end 2010 with a growth of 6,6%.