Malacacheta

Malacacheta is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was estimated to be 17,917 people living in a total area of 719 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Vale do Mucuri and to the micro-region of Teófilo Otoni. It became a municipality in 1924.

Malacacheta is located at an elevation of 432 meters, 90 km. west of Teófilo Otoni. The distance to the state capital, Belo Horizonte, is 515 km. Neighboring municipalities are: Setubinha, Novo Cruzeiro, Ladainha, Poté, Franciscópolis and Água Boa.

The main economic activities are services, small industries, and agriculture. A large percentage of the population is in the rural area and engaged in subsistence farming. The GDP in 2005 was R$54 million, with 37 million from services, 4 million from industry, and 10 million from agriculture. There were 960 rural producers on 35,000 hectares of land. Only 25 farms had tractors (2006). Approximately 2,700 persons were dependent on agriculture. The main cash crop was coffee while sugarcane, beans and corn were grown on a small scale. There were 33,000 head of cattle (2006). There was one bank (2007) and 686 automobiles (629 motorcycles), giving a ratio of 26 inhabitants per automobile.