There are of course other smaller areas of development especially around the larger towns and cities along the coast, around Bras lia, the capital and around Manaus, the main town along the Amazon river. The South East Region includes the area where the coffee industry developed. It also includes the mineral resources of Minas Gerais State. The Region is now one of the most prosperous in Brazil. Moreover, because its population is larger and more wealthy than in other Regions, there is a bigger market for consumer goods and services.
Farmers also benefit because the cities provide a demand for their crops and livestock.
This means that the farmers can afford to use modern methods on their farms to increase output. The North Region includes five of the States which make up most of the Amazon Basin - Amazonas, Par , Roraima, Acre and Rond nia. They are still largely forested. Only a very small part of the rainforest, mainly round the edges, has been cleared for farming. The North East Region provides a bigger share of the GDP than both the North and West Central Regions.