page_title: Minas Gerais
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Minas Gerais / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Itabira MG Brasil - Mina de Ferro da Vale
context_page_description: Minas Gerais is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product, and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte, is a major urban and finance center in Latin America, and the sixth largest municipality in Brazil, after the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Brasilia and Fortaleza, but its metropolitan area is the third largest in Brazil with just over 5,800,000 inhabitants, after those of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Nine Brazilian presidents were born in Minas Gerais, the most of any state. The state, which has 10.1% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for only 8.7% of the Brazilian GDP.
  With an area of 586,528 square kilometres —larger than Metropolitan France—it is the fourth most extensive state in Brazil. The main producer of coffee and milk in the country, Minas Gerais is known for its heritage of architecture and colonial art in historical cities such as São João del Rei, Congonhas, Ouro Preto, Diamantina, Tiradentes and Mariana.
context_section_description: Minas Gerais is the second-largest consumer market in Brazil, behind the state of São Paulo. It shares 10.4% of the Brazilian consumer market. Companies of this Brazilian state have access to 49% of the Brazilian consumer market, with estimated consumption potential of 223 billion US dollars. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 47.1%, followed by the industrial sector at 44.1%. agriculture represents 8.8% of GDP (2004). Main exports: mineral products 44.4%, metals 15.8%, vegetable products 13%, precious metals 5.5%, foodstuffs 4.9%, transportation 3.5% (2012).
  Share of the Brazilian economy: 9% (2005).
  Minas Gerais (or simply Minas, as it is commonly called) is a major producer of milk, coffee and other agricultural commodities, as well as minerals. Electronics are also produced in Minas. The automakers Fiat and Mercedes-Benz have factories there. Tourism is also an important activity for the state: historical cities like Ouro Preto, Mariana, Sabará, Congonhas, Diamantina, Tiradentes, and Sao João del Rey, are major attractions for visitors interested in their colonial architecture. Other cities, like Araxá, Poços de Caldas, Lambari, Caxambu, Lavras, and others, attract visitors interested in their mineral watersprings. Eco-tourism is a rising economic activity in the state, specially in localities situated on the several Serras (highlands) that exist in Minas Gerais.
  The state has marked economic divisions. The southern part of the state (close to the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro state borders) has several mid-sized cities with solid industrial bases such as Juiz de Fora, Varginha, Pouso Alegre, and Poços de Caldas, as well as Ipatinga in the east of the state, which is also a modern and major industrial city and Itabira, considered mother city of mining company Vale, that has stocks quoted in Bovespa and NYSE. The northeastern region is marked by poverty, but Governador Valadares and Teófilo Otoni attract foreign traders for the semi-precious gems such as topaz and sapphire. In Teófilo Otoni, some companies are also attracted because of Brazilian Export Processing Zone, a free trade area.  The central region of the state (where the capital is located) has big reserves of iron (and to a lesser extent, gold) still being actively mined. There are also large companies installed the automotive industry, as manufacturers FIAT in Betim, IVECO in Sete Lagoas and suppliers of auto-parts, as STOLA and USIPARTS. The western part, the "Triângulo Mineiro", is less densely populated than the rest of the state, and it is now a focus of biotechnology investment, particularly on the cities of Uberlândia, Uberaba, Patos de Minas and Araguari, which includes leading research on cattle, soy and corn culture.
  In agriculture, the state stands out in the production of coffee, sugar cane and soy, and also has large productions of orange, beans, sorghum, carrot, potato, banana, tangerine and strawberry, in addition to producing papaya, persimmon and yuca.
  In 2020, Minas Gerais was the largest producer of Coffea arabica in the country, with 74% of the national total (1.9 million tons, or 31.2 million 60-kg bags). In 2017, Minas represented 54.3% of the total national production of coffee (first place).
  The state was the third largest producer of sugar cane in Brazil in 2020, representing 11.1% of the total produced in the country, with 74.3 million tons.
  The cultivation of soy, on the other hand, is increasing, however, it is not among the largest national producers of this grain. In the 2018/2019 harvest, Minas Gerais harvested 5 million tons (seventh place in the country).
  About orange, Minas Gerais was the second largest producer in 2018, with a total of 948 thousand tons.
  Minas Gerais is the second largest producer of beans in Brazil, with 17.2% of national production in 2020. In addition, it is one of the largest national producers of sorghum: around 30% of Brazilian production. It also ranks third in domestic production of cotton.
  The state was the third largest producer of banana in 2018, with 766 thousand tons. Brazil 
caption: Iron mine in Itabira
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