Brazil's industrial production increased 1.6 percent year-on-year in the first four months, said the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on Tuesday.

In April, the figure was down 2.1 percent from the previous month, the sharpest monthly fall since December 2008, when the country was first hit by the international financial crisis.

Year-on-year, the industrial output fell for the second consecutive month in April, down by 1.3 percent.

In 12 months through April, the figure jumped by 5.4 percent from the previous 12-month period, following the downward trend starting October 2010.

According to IBGE, 18 out of the 27 sectors registered a rise in the output in the first four months of 2011, including motor vehicles, pharmaceutical products, transportation equipment and hospital supplies.

Textiles, food products and beverages were among the sectors suffering a production decrease.