The development of the Brazilian chemistry sector, during the last 30 years, is nowadays being attributed to PADCT (Science and Technology Development Program). Since the seventies, the Government took notice of the importance of research in chemistry for the Brazilian economy, therefore creating PADCT to support chemistry and chemical engineering among other areas of science and technology. Planning and implementation of the second phase of this program represented a real joint strategic planning. Since then, academic research and human resources education have experienced significant improvements. However, in the chemical trade, the deficit continues to grow, in spite of an almost constant ratio between importation costs and export revenues. Continued investments for research in the area remain necessary.
PADCT; chemistry; planning