Rio de Janeiro
The first cuts of coffee arrived in Rio de Janeiro in the 1970”s. The plant at first was cultivated in yards and farmsteads in the surroundings of mountainous valleys, near the seashore. Between 1835 and 1867 the production of coffee increased six fold. In 1882.
The Fluminense coffee production reached its maximum level in . In 1870, the decline of productivity was visible in the first areas occupied by coffee.In 1880, the production was 4,133 466 sacks and by the end of 1889 1,309,271 sacks were produced.
This decline is due to the use of traditional techniques of agricultural production so the virgin soil was utilized in a predatory way. Forests were burned to give way for coffee, making the soil very poor. Agriculture plagues such as the ant sauva, grasshoppers, birds and rust attacked the plants.
Besides that, the devastation of the forests caused climatic changes in Vale do Paraiba and soil erosion having been subjected to torrentials rains in the region. In the last decades the reduction of virgin lands for new plantations 1900’s generated great rises in prices for land.
Progressively the state of Sao Paulo began moving to region of Rio de Janeiro for coffee production. In 1883 the production of Sao Paulo was the same as Rio and even overtaking it in the following years. Porto de Santos became the main exportation port of the country.
New railroads began linking Minas Gerais to this port, bringing exports of that state from the Porto do Rio de Janeiro.
The decline of coffee in the state made Rio de Janeiro diversify its economy, through the industrial, commercial and financial production and the development of goods and services
