information:filtering
Agriculture

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 cassava.

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). The state was the second largest producer of oranges 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 was already the 2nd largest producer of the fruit in the world, currently in 3rd place, losing only to India and Ecuador.

In 2018, São Paulo and Minas Gerais were the largest producers of tangerine in Brazil. Minas was the 5th largest producer of papaya. About persimmon, Minas ranks third with 8%.

In 2019, in Brazil, there was a total production area of around 4 thousand hectares of strawberry. The largest producer is Minas Gerais, with approximately 1,500 hectares, cultivated in most municipalities in the extreme south of the state, in the Serra da Mantiqueira region, with Pouso Alegre and Estiva being the largest producers.

Regarding carrots, Brazil ranked fifth in the world ranking in 2016, with an annual production of around 760 thousand tons. In relation to the exports of this product, Brazil occupies the seventh world position. Minas Gerais is the largest producer in Brazil. Among the production centers in Minas Gerais are the municipalities of São Gotardo, Santa Juliana and Carandaí. As for potato, the main national producer is the state of Minas Gerais, with 32% of the total produced in the country. In 2017, Minas Gerais harvested around 1.3 million tons of the product. In the production of cassava, Brazil produced a total of 17.6 million tons in 2018. Minas was the 12th largest producer in the country, with almost 500 thousand tons.

Regarding the bovine herd, Minas has the second largest in the country. In 2015, it had a total of 23.8 million head of cattle.

Minas is the main producer of milk in Brazil, with the highest number of milked cows, responsible for 26.6% of production and 20.0% of total milking animals. The municipality of Patos de Minas was the second largest producer in 2017, with 191.3 million liters of milk. In 2015, the state produced 9.1 billion liters of milk.

In terms of pork meat, in 2017, Minas had the 4th largest herd in the country, with 5.2 million heads, 12.7% of the national total.

The state is the third largest producer of eggs in the country, with 9.3% of the Brazilian total in 2019 (which was 3.83 billion dozen).