The economic growth of agricultural activities in the states in the southeastern region of Brazil – 1995/2005

Abstract

This article analyzes the economic growth of agricultural activities and the profile of the agricultural area of the states in the southeastern region of Brazil, between 1995 and 2005. Pointers referring to the farming sector of the region’s states were used. The study shows that the process of economic growth in the region was dynamic in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais and was centered on exportation products, mainly sugar cane, soy and maize. In the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, however, there was a decrease of the farming GIP. The region’s exportation guideline presented significant alterations from the decade of 1990, a period in which the exportation of basic products lost importance and was replaced by the manufacturing, a process which reaffirmed the region’s position as the economic center of the country. The regional process of agroindustrialização is characterized by the more intense use of capital technologies, mainly in the sugar cane sector, which has revealed new opportunities in the area of bioproducts and biofuel.