Cássia, Minas Gerais 5.48

Cássia is a Brazilian municipality located in the center of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2000 was 17,027 people living in a total area of 643 km². The city belongs to the meso-region of Sul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Passos. It became a municipality in 1890.LocationThe city center of Cássia is located at an elevation of 745 meters in a fertile region between the state boundary of São Paulo and the great reservoir of Furnas. Neighboring municipalities are: Delfinópolis (N), Passos and Itaú de Minas (E), Pratápolis (S), Captetinga (SW), and Ibiraci (W).Distances Belo Horizonte: 384 km (south on MG-344, then east on MG-050)São Sebastião do Paraíso: 65 km (31 southeast on MG-344, then 34 km southwest on MG-050)Ibiraci: 27 km northwest on MG-344Economic activitiesServices and agriculture are the main economic activities. The GDP in 2005 was approximately R$135 million, with 71 million reais from services, 10 million reais from industry, and 45 million reais from agriculture. There were 884 rural producers on 48,000 hectares of land. Approximately 2,700 persons were occupied in agriculture. The main crops are coffee, sugarcane, rice, beans, and corn. There were 55,000 head of cattle, of which 18,000 were milk cows (2006).