Ribeirão Prêto

Ribeirão Prêto (rēbārouN` prā`tō), city (1996 pop. 452,804), São Paulo state, SE Brazil. The former "coffee capital" of Brazil, the city grew during the late 19th cent., with railroad construction and a large influx of Italian immigrants. During the 1930s coffee cultivation declined greatly, and the city became a processing center for a rich agricultural region producing chiefly sugarcane. Cotton and cereals are also grown, and cloth, cottonseed oil, food products, and alcoholic beverages are produced. Cattle breeding is also important. In recent years the coffee industry has been reviving.

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Ribeirão Prêto 

a city in southeastern Brazil, in the state of São Paulo. Population, 212,300 (1970, including suburbs). A railroad junction, Ribeirão Prêto is a trading center of an agricultural region raising cotton, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, grains, and livestock. The city also has textile and food-processing industries.