Discovering South America: Brazil

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Brazil

Agriculture and Forest Products Agriculture, which employs about 16 percent of Brazil’s labor force, accounts for 5.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and generates about one-third of its export earnings. In 2014, Brazil was the world’s leading pro- ducer of coffee and sugar, and one of the largest producers of soybeans. Brazil is also one of the world’s largest producers of oranges, bananas, and papaws, a small tropical fruit. Ranching is important as well: there are 189 million cattle in Brazil, more than any other country in the world. Brazil’s abundant forests provide valuable resources, though defor- estation—particularly in the Amazon rain forest—has long been a concern of environmentalists. Timber is a major export. About 40 percent of Brazil’s timber comes from the northeastern part of the country, particularly the state of Bahia; plantations in the south and southeast account for another 20 percent of the total. Tropical hardwoods such as mahogany, used in making fine furniture, are another valuable commodity. Industry Overall, about 13 percent of Brazil’s labor force works in industry, with the employment leaders being food and metal processing, automobiles, chemi- cals, and textiles. In terms of sales, the top industries are chemicals, food- stuffs, metals, vehicles, and engineering. Industry accounts for about 26 per- cent of Brazil’s GDP. The mining industry, which supplies Brazil with a vital source of industrial raw materials at home, also provides 10.2 percent of the nation’s