Coffee dominates Brazilian exports in the last…

Coffee dominates Brazilian exports in the last half of the nineteenth century, going from fifty percent of exports in 1841-50 to fifty-nine point five percent in 1871-80, but sugar exports also increase, and cotton, tobacco, cocoa, rubber, and mate are important.

The vast cattle herds that graze the Northeastern sertdo, the plains (cerrado) of Minas Gerais, and the pampas of Rio Grande do Sul foreshadow Brazil's status in 1990 as the world's second largest meat exporter.

Meat-salting plants (saladeros) in Rio Grande do Sul ship sun-dried beef to the expanding coffee-growing region to feed its slaves and frees tenant farmers (colonos).

In addition to beef, Brazilians eat protein-rich beans, rice, and corn, much of which comes from Minas Gerais or the immigrant colonies of Rio Grande do Sul.

Interregional trade is budding, but for the most part local self-sufficiency is the norm.

Indeed, more people produce food for the domestic market than labor on export crops.