Frutal

Frutal is a municipality in the north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As of 2007 the population was 51,766 in a total area of 2,430 km². It became a municipality in 1885.

Micro-region of Frutal

Frutal is also a statistical micro-region with 12 municipalties: Campina Verde, Carneirinho, Comendador Gomes, Fronteira, Frutal, Itapagipe, Iturama, Limeira do Oeste, Pirajuba, Planura, São Francisco de Sales, and União de Minas. In 2000 the population of this region was 152,632 inhabitants. The area was 16,890.70 km², with a population density of 9.04 inhab/km². [ [http://www.citybrazil.com.br/mg/regioes/frutal/ Citybrazil] ]

Location

Frutal is located at an elevation of 485 meters just north of the Rio Grande River, a tributary of the Paraná River. It is 8 km. east of federal highway BR-153 (Transbrasiliana). It belongs to the statistical microregion of Frutal. Neighboring municipalities are:
*Northwest: Itapagipe
*North: Comendador Gomes
*Northeast: Campo Florido
*West: Itapagipe
*East: Orindiúva, São Paulo
*Southwest: Orindiúva and Paulo de Faria, São Paulo
*South: Guaraci, São Paulo and Fronteira
*Southeast:Colômbia and Barretos, São Paulo [ [http://www.aondefica.com/brasil_r_mg.asp Aonde fica] ]

Distances
*Belo Horizonte: 600 km.
*Uberaba: 145 km.
*Uberlândia: 186 km.
*Planura: 32 km. [ [http://www.aondefica.com/centerleft_mg.asp Aonde fica] ]

Economic Activities

The most important economic activities are cattle raising, commerce, light industry, food processing, and agriculture. The GDP in 2005 was R$ 470,213,000. Frutal is in the top tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development. As of 2007 there were 06 banking agencies in the town. There was a dynamic retail infrastructure serving the surrounding area of cattle and agricultural lands. In the rural area there were 1,574 establishments occupying about 3,800 workers. 530 of the farms had tractors, a ratio of one in three. There were 10,726 automobiles in all of the municipality, about one for every 9 inhabitants.

Frutal is an important agricultural producer and a large producer of meat and dairy products. There were 157,000 head of cattle in 2006, of which 53,000 head were dairy cows. The crops with a planted area of more than 100 hectares were:
*sugarcane: 10,128 ha.
*rubber: 628 ha.
*oranges: 6,500 ha.
*pineapple: 1,600 ha.
*corn: 5,000 ha.
*soybeans: 27,000 ha.
*sorghum: 5,000 ha. [ [http://www.ibge.gov.br/cidadesat/default.php IBGE] ]

Health and Education

In the health sector there were 04 hospitals with 133 beds and 10 public health clinics. In the educational sector there were 13 municipal, 06 state, and 06 private primary schools. There were 4 state and 3 private middle schools. In higher education there were three institutes: UEMG - Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais/FESF; UNIPAC - Universidade Presidente Antônio Carlos; FAF - Faculdade Frutal. [ [http://www.frutal.mg.gov.br/cidade/educacao.html City government site] ]

*Municipal Human Development Index: 0.803 (2000)
*State ranking: 32 out of 853 municipalities as of 2000
*National ranking: 495 out of 5,138 municipalities as of 2000
*Literacy rate: 91%
*Life expectancy: 74.7 (average of males and females)

The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country--0,467--putting it in last place. [ [http://www.frigoletto.com.br/GeoEcon/idhmg.htm Frigoletto] ]

Origin of the Name and History

According to oral tradition the name of the city is linked to the abundance of a fruit similar to the jabuticaba, which was known by the first settlers as only "fruit". As a result the place was called Patrimônio das Frutas, later as Carmo do Fructal and today only Frutal. The first registers mention the arrival of a pioneer Antônio de Paula e Silva in 1835, who settled with his family and slaves on the banks of the Rio Grande. In 1850 the settlement was declared a "arraial" or village, and in 1858 it was raised to the status of district in the municipality of Uberaba, becoming emancipated in the same year with the name of Carmo do Fructal. In 1887 it became a city with the name Frutal. [ [http://www.frutal.mg.gov.br/cidade/historia.html City government site] ]

References

ee also

* List of municipalities in Minas Gerais