Goiás State - Description
"The vibing heart of Brazil"
LOCATED IN THE HEART of Brazil and occupying 340,106 km², Goiás (the "Brazilian Kansas") is one of the leading Brazilian states in agribusiness (agriculture, livestock, and agro-industry) and mining (4th largest CFEM - mining royalty - collector) sectors, in addition to occupying a prominent position in renewables (mainly hydro & biofuels) and logistics. Automotive, construction, and pharmaceutical industries also play an important role in the state's economy.
Agribusiness
3rd national producer of grains, the state should reach 32.1 mi tons in the 2022/23 harvest, driven by the production of soybean (2nd largest producer, after Mato Grosso (MT)), corn, sorghum (used for animal fodder - national leader), sunflower (for oil production - national leader), wheat, and cotton [Cora Coralina, 2022]. Also, the state is ranked No.2 in sugar cane (after São Paulo) and cattle production (after MT).
Mining
​Mining is the third most important sector of the Goiás economy, behind only grains & meat. The state is a major producer of nickel (largest domestic producer of nickel ore, w/ 45% of national production), copper (2nd largest producer, after Pará, w/ 21% of national production), gold, niobium (3rd largest national reserve, after Minas Gerais (MG) & Amazonas, w/ 14% of national production), rare earths (2nd largest national reserve, after MG), phosphate (2nd largest producer, after MG, w/ 37% of national production), vermiculite (largest domestic producer, w/ 82% of national production), and limestone.
In 2022, the state generated BRL 8.6 billion (click here for conversion) in mineral production, particularly copper, limestone, nickel, phosphate, gold and niobium. The expectation is that the sector will generate R$30 billion in ten years [AC, 2023].
State Mineral Resources Plan of Goiás (2022-2024) - PERM-GO (in Portuguese) can be found here:
Renewables
Goiás stands out in the production of renewable electricity through hydroelectric (about 82% of the mix), sugarcane bagasse (about 12%), and solar PV energy, which is in full development. Moreover, the high levels of solar radiation (2,000 to 2,500 kWh/m2/year, above national average), the vocation for agribusiness, and the abundance of water resources (the state owns the country's largest lake by volume of water) create a favorable scenario for the development of green hydrogen.
Logistics
Taking advantage of its privileged location, Goiás developed a multimodal logistics platform, located in Anápolis (150 km from the federal capital of Brazil, Brasília, and 50 km from the state capital, Goiânia), promoting the concept of a logistics intelligence center, combining multimodality (highways, railways, and airways), telematics, and freight optimization, constituting a strategic node for load distribution with national and international coverage.
