Among the states of Latin America, it is Brazil that holds the lead in terms of overall economic potential. The industry of this country is important, but agriculture remains the main filler of the state budget. It employs over 20 percent of the population.
Key economic indicators of the country
Football, textiles, wheat, coffee… What country are we talking about? Of course, about a state called Brazil! Industry and agriculture in this country are approximately equally developed, although the agricultural sector still leads in terms of the number of employees (20% versus 13%). Another 60% of the population works in the service sector.
In the 1990s, Brazil experienced a crisis in the economy, so investors were in no hurry to invest in this country. However, over time, thanks to a competent policy, the situation in the state improved. And already at the beginning of the new millennium, all experts noted a noticeable growth in the Brazilian economy.
Today, Brazil, whose industry provides almost 30 percent of GDP, is the No. 1 country ineconomic potential among South American states. Despite this, about 23% of its inhabitants, according to the UN, are below the poverty line.
The country annually exports products worth almost $200 billion (imports - $187 billion). Brazil's top exports are coffee, cars, biofuels, clothing, soybeans and wheat. The main partners of Brazil in the world market are: the USA, China, Argentina, Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.
Brazil: industry and location
Brazil is a country that, due to its natural features, is in dire need of a competent regional policy. Thus, the territorial distribution of Brazilian industry is uneven. The contrast in economic development between the east and west of the country is striking.
The most developed region of Brazil is its southeast coast. It is here that the main financial centers of the country are located - the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte. The city of São Paulo is often compared to a powerful locomotive that pulls the whole country.
A large agricultural region has formed in southern Brazil. The west and the center are "wild", often undeveloped, expanses of Brazil, where animal husbandry is fragmentarily developed.
Brazil: industry and its specialization
The number of people employed in Brazilian industry is declining from year to year. Today, the main industries in Brazil are:
- energy;
- mining industry;
- light industry;
- automobile.
In particular, the country is one of the world leaders in the production of biofuels and textiles, the extraction of iron ore. This is the modern specialization of Brazilian industry.
About forty types of minerals are mined today in this country. Among them, the most important for the economy are iron and tungsten ores, gold, zirconium and bauxite. But Brazil meets its needs for oil only half. Therefore, it is forced to import this energy resource.
The Brazilian automotive industry is represented by numerous enterprises of the international companies Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Fiat. Every year, the country produces about one and a half million cars, as well as buses.
Other industries in Brazil are also quite developed. We are talking about light industry (production of fabrics and footwear), chemical industry and oil refining.
Energy & Biofuels
2756 power plants operating today in Brazil. Their total capacity is 121,226 MW. Interestingly, over 80 percent of all electricity in the country is produced by environmentally friendly hydroelectric power plants (HPPs).
Brazil provides electricity not only to itself, but also to neighboring states - Paraguay and Venezuela.
The country ranks second in the world in the productionbiological fuel - bioethanol. In 2006, almost 17 million liters of this fuel were produced in Brazil, although the technological capacities of enterprises in this country are much higher. The raw material for this purpose is sugar cane, plantations of which are also located in Brazil. Thus, here the Brazilian economy is absolutely independent of the world market situation: if the demand for cane sugar falls, the country immediately reacts to this and produces more bioethanol.
Brazilian agriculture
In terms of agricultural production, the country is in the top three world leaders. Thus, Brazil supplies the world market with about 6% of all agricultural products on the planet.
Brazil is primarily the production of coffee, soybeans, corn, sugarcane, cocoa and bananas. Forestry has great prospects for development in the country. But this resource is still poorly developed: it all comes down to the collection of rubber and nuts. Although this is a definite plus for the preservation of the Amazon forests.
In recent years, Brazil harvests at least 600 million tons of cane annually. This figure is a record in the world. Of the grains, corn is most revered in the country: two crops of this useful crop are harvested here annually.
Livestock is about 40% of the value of all agricultural products in Brazil. It is developed in the central-western part of the country and is represented mainly by pasturecattle breeding.
Coffee production
Brazil is a "coffee" country. Probably everyone knows about it. For more than a century, it has been the world leader in the production of coffee beans.
The very first coffee bushes in Brazil were planted in 1727. According to legend, they were brought here from French Guiana. Already in the middle of the 19th century, Brazil suffered a real coffee fever. This plant not only allowed Brazil to become an important player in the world market, but also stimulated the construction of a railway network in the country. Freight trains transported coffee beans from the hinterland to large ports on the Atlantic coast.
In 2009, the country supplied almost 2 million tons of this product to the world market, which in percentage terms amounted to 32%.
In closing
Brazil is the country with the largest economic potential in the Latin American region. The main industries here are energy, mining, chemical, automotive and light industries. Brazil's agriculture specializes in coffee, sugar cane, soybeans and corn.
