Patrocínio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patrocínio is a city and municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population of the municipality in 2004 was 79,480 with a density of 25.57 inhabitants per square km. The area is 2,875.2 km² and the elevation is 965 mts. The city was founded by the Patrício family, which came from Rio de Janeiro state. It is located in the north-center of the state near the rich industrial and agricultural region of the Triângulo Mineiro, on BR 365 between Patos de Minas and Uberlândia.
[edit] Economy
The region has an economy based on cattle raising and agriculture, with dairy cattle being the most important. It is also the third largest producer of hogs in the country.
Patrocínio has a bovine herd raised mainly for milk. According to the IBGE, there are approximately 132,000 head, distributed among 2,166 producers, responsible for the production of approximately 130,000 liters a day, which is mainly sent to the Belo Horizonte market. Part of the milk is transformed into traditional cheese and candies.
In hog production there are 14 large producers, with thousands of sows. These large farms, together with dozens of small producers, raise approximately 5,399 sows, with an average production of 22 piglets a year, with a total of more than 125,000 head. The production is commercialized in Uberlândia and Belo Horizonte.
Patrocínio has become one of the most important coffee producing areas of Brazil. About 78% of the economy is connected to coffee, with the activity employing more than 30,000 people.
The cultivation of coffee began in the 1970s when strong frost decimated the large farms of Paraná and São Paulo. The region has a mild climate, good water distribution, with a large number of streams, and an annual rainfall considered ideal for coffee--about 1,600 milliliters.
In the district of São João da Serra Negra, 18 km. from the city, is the Mineral-water spa of Serra Negra, known all over the country for the quality of its mineral water (Água Mineral Serra Negra) and sulphurous mud.
