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| | Need to Know | Capital City Brasilia | | Tipping 10-15% | | Electricity 110 V or 120 V | | Weights and Measurements Metric Sysytem |
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Economy
Brazil has the largest economy in Latin America and the tenth in the world, yet its GDP has hardly grown since 1980 and is less than the average of the whole of Latin America and the Caribbean. The abundant natural resources of the country have not been fully explored and exploited. It is a farming country where processed and unprocessed agricultural products account for about a third of exports, and fishing, agriculture and forestry account for 14% of GDP. Brazil is the “coffee pot” of the world – Brazil produces 30% of the coffee produced in the world each year. It’s also a leader in the production of bananas, cotton, cocoa beans, cattle, horses, lemons, oranges, rice, tobacco, sugar cane and soya beans. Power plants on Brazil’s magnificent rivers generate a great deal of electricity. Iron ore, steel manganese and other minerals are a plenty.
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Currency
The monetary unit of Brazil is the real (pronounced ‘Ray-ow’). One Real = 100 centavos.
Ever since the political condition of Brazil has stabilized, it has become expensive for foreign tourists. If you eat/drink out at restaurants, travel by buses every second day, and put up in hotels, you would be shelling out at least US$60 per day. (Prices of accommodation increase 30% December to February.) If lazing at the beaches and eating plain fare is all right with you, you may get by with US$30 per day. Bargaining for hotel rooms is the done thing and don’t hesitate to do it!
Almost all banks change traveler’s cheques. If you are carrying cash in excess of US$ 4000, you need the approval of the Brazilian Central Bank. Almost anyone on the street could direct you to a casa de cambio (money exchange house). Buy and sell dollars without any restrictions in Brazil. In small towns, you might need to find a person who buys cash. Play it safe – don’t let moneychangers take you to unfamiliar areas – you could end up losing it all. Banks open between 10am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday and will change Traveler’s Cheques and cash in major cities. Traveller’s Cheques are a safer way to carry your money in Brazil but rates for cheques are lower than for cash but they aren’t so easy to exchange.
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Business Guide
Business suits are worn for meetings, whether it is with senior officials or local heads, formal or semi formal, at the office or at a restaurant. Business cards are distributed at the onset. Office hours are 0900-1800 Monday to Friday.
Go shopping or visit government services on weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm and on Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. Huge shopping malls keep buzzing until 10 pm and are open on Sundays as well. Banks are generally open from 10 am to 4.30
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Travel Tools
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