Itajaí, city, eastern Santa Catarina estado (state), southern Brazil. It lies at the mouth of the Itajaí River, at 20 feet (6 metres) above sea level. Founded in the mid-19th century by German and Italian colonists, Itajaí is now the commercial centre and Atlantic port for an agricultural region drained by the Itajaí River and its tributaries. Wrapping paper and cotton textiles are the principal goods manufactured in the city, which also exports lumber, starch, cassava (manioc), sassafras, vegetable oil, and tobacco. In the late 1970s a fishing terminal was installed there. Itajaí is connected by highway and air to Florianópolis, the state capital (about 50 miles [80 km] south), and by road to Blumenau (30 miles [48 km] west) and Joinville (about 45 miles [72 km] north). Pop. (2010) 183,373.