page_title: Paraná (state)
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Paraná (state) / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Español: Curitiba - Batel/Água Verde
context_page_description: Paraná is one of the 26 states of Brazil, in the south of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the province of Misiones, Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraguay, with the Paraná River as its western boundary line.
  Its area is 199,307.9 km², and it is subdivided into 399 municipalities. Its capital is the city of Curitiba. Other major cities are Londrina, Maringá, Ponta Grossa, Cascavel, São José dos Pinhais and Foz do Iguaçu.
  Crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn, Paraná has what is left of the araucaria forest, one of the most important subtropical forests in the world. At the border with Argentina is the National Park of Iguaçu, considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. At only 40 km from there, at the border with Paraguay, the largest dam in the world was built, the Hidroelétrica de Itaipu. The crime rate is considered low by Brazilian standards and the state is one of the most developed ones in the nation, ranking 4th in gross domestic product, only behind the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
context_section_description: In 2013, the Paraná had the fifth largest GDP of Brazil, representing 5.90% of the Brazilian GDP in 2005, against 6.4% in 2003.
  About 15% of Paraná's GDP comes from agriculture. Another 40% comes from industry and the remaining 45% comes from the tertiary sector. As for its exports, in 2012 the main products exported were soybeans (18.73%), Meat Poultry (10.50%), sugar in Natura (8.09%), Soybean Meal (8.00%) and corn (6.36%). The state's largest company is the government-owned Copel, which supplies electricity, natural gas and other utilities to Paraná and some surrounding areas and in 1997 was among the first Brazilian companies to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ELP). 
  The main economic activities are agriculture, industry (agribusiness, automotive, and paper) and plant extraction (wood and yerba mate).
  Despite the good social indicators and high standard of living, unemployment is still a problem and the state is one of most difficult for foreigners trying to find jobs.
  In agriculture, the state stands out in the production of soybeans, maize, wheat, sugarcane, cassava, beans, tomato, orange and yerba mate, in addition to also producing coffee, oat, barley, peach, tangerine and strawberry.
  In 2020, the South Region produced 32% of the national total of cereals, vegetables and oilseeds. There were 77.2 million tons, second place in Brazil, losing only to the Midwest. Paraná (14.9%) was the 2nd largest producer in the country.
  In soy, Paraná is the 2nd largest producer in the country, with about 16% of national production. It produced 19.8 million tons in 2020. In 2017, it was also 2nd largest producer of maize (corn). Brazil is the biggest producer of soy and the 2nd biggest producer of corn in the world.
  Regarding sugarcane, Paraná was, in 2017, the fifth largest producer of cane, third of sugar and fifth of alcohol in the country. It harvested about 46 million tons of cane this year. The state's sugar and alcohol sector has 25 plants and employs around 55,000 people. The regions of Umuarama, Paranavaí, Maringá and Jacarezinho concentrate production. Brazil is the largest world producer, with 672.8 million tons harvested in 2018.
  In cassava production, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Paraná was the 2nd largest producer in the country, with 3.2 million tons.
  Since 2006, Paraná has been leading the production of beans in Brazil. Brazil is the 3rd largest producer of beans in the world, with an annual harvest of around 3 million tons, 11% of world production. In 2018, the South Region was the main bean producer with 26.4% of the total, followed by the Midwest (25.4%), Southeast Region (25.1%), Northeast (20.6%) and North (2.5%). The State of Paraná leads the ranking of the main national producers with 18.9% of the total produced.
  Paraná is the 2nd largest national producer of wheat, with 2.2 million tons in 2019, almost equal to Rio Grande do Sul, the biggest producer. The South Region is also the largest producer of oats in Brazil. In 2019, national production was close to 800 thousand tons, being almost all carried out in the South (Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul).
  About orange, Paraná was the 3rd largest producer in Brazil in 2018, with a total of 834 thousand tons.
  Although not a large production, Paraná is the Brazilian leader in the production of barley. The state harvested 219.2 thousand tons in 2019, 60% of the national production. However, Brazil is far from being self-sufficient in the production of barley. The Brazilian market consumes, on average, 1.5 million tons per year. Brazil produces 335 thousand tons, close to 22%. Most, 73%, come from Argentina and Uruguay.
  In 2018, Paraná was the 4th largest produce of tangerine in Brazil. Paraná also has a part of the production of peaches in Brazil. In 2019, in Brazil, there was a total production area of around 4 thousand hectares of strawberry. Paraná was the 4th largest producers in the country.
  In coffee, Paraná is the producer state located further south in the country. It was once the largest producing state in Brazil: in 1962, P
caption: Downtown Curitiba
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