With the dollar stable in Argentina and the record devaluation of the real (US$1 = R$6), Argentine tourists no longer do the math and just have fun. That hadn’t happened for a long time.
Paying in dollars or reais with Pix makes almost everything cheaper.
“We spent a few days in Punta del Este, which this year is a little more accessible for Argentines, and then we came to Florianópolis. Comparing it, you can say that everything in Brazil is much cheaper than in Argentina. Half the price”, he says Paulina Figueroa to Clarín.
“A very good purchase at the supermarket, for seven people, only cost 130,000 pesos. In Argentina you can’t buy anything with that money”, says Paulina’s mother. The Figueroa family is from the province of Catamarca, in northwestern Argentina.
In Florianópolis, it is possible to exchange money at exchange offices (1 dollar = 5.60 reais) and also in some supermarkets, where the exchange rate is a little lower: 1 dollar = 5.50 reais.
In the city center, even after 8pm, there is a queue to exchange currency. Argentines prefer not to use cards because of the 30% tax on purchases abroad – it is the most expensive form of payment. It is better to exchange dollars.
In supermarkets, even when they are full, it is just joy.
Along with two friends, Ana, 24, fills the cart almost without blinking. “I live alone in Buenos Aires, so I do the shopping. From what I’ve seen, food here costs a third of what it costs in Argentina,” she says.
Francesca agrees that “there is a huge difference in the price of everything”. “On the beach or at the club, everything costs half or less than in Argentina.”
Katerina insists that “everything is really very cheap.” They buy two units of everything: “For example, on the beach, two drinks cost 50 reais.”
And they pay with Pix. Some electronic wallets in Argentina have been enabled by the BC and allow payment without surcharges.
Oscar is a metallurgist and is in Canasvieiras with his wife and a couple of friends. They are from the province of Santa Fé. Making his first purchases at the supermarket, he hardly believes the comparatively lower prices. “It’s cheaper than I thought, but I think the Brazilians have started to increase prices with all these Argentines here. The news keeps talking about the flood of tourists, so I think they’re going to increase it a little”, he says .
The difference is quite noticeable in drinks in general. A liter of semi-skimmed long-life milk costs 5.75 reais (1,150 pesos) and in Argentina 1,800 pesos. A 330 cc Corona beer, which costs 2,040 pesos in Argentina, can be obtained in Florianópolis for the equivalent of 1,500 pesos. The 250 cc Red Bull Energizer costs 2,590 Argentine pesos, but here it can be purchased for less than 10 reais (2,000 pesos). In supermarkets, a 2-liter Coca-Cola costs 11 reais (2,200 pesos), while in Buenos Aires it costs no less than 3,420 pesos.
Pasta is also cheaper in Brazil. Barilla’s 500-gram penne rigate, which costs 7,500 pesos in Buenos Aires hypermarkets, is 25 reais (5,000 pesos) in Brazilian markets.
On Jurerê beach, no one chooses between “choripán” (sandwich with sausage) or corn anymore. “Now Argentines order both. They are spending a lot more. They pay less attention to prices”, say beach vendors.
The sausage sandwich with lettuce and sauce costs 25 reais (5,000 pesos). Corn with butter costs 15 reais (3,000 pesos).
In bars on the most popular beaches in Brazil, a hamburger complete with fries is sold for 60 reais (12,000 pesos). In Pinamar, on the Argentine coast, it costs no less than 15,000 pesos. A dozen churros cost 40 reais (8,000 pesos), while in Mar del Plata, also on the coast of Argentina, they cost 10,000 pesos.
Beer is another point in Brazil’s favor, not only in supermarkets, but also in bars and restaurants: a mug of beer costs 18 reais (3,600 pesos). You can’t find it on Argentine beaches for less than 4,500 pesos.
“My package to come to Brazil cost 700 dollars. It was worth it because here everything is almost free. In the center of Florianópolis there is everything in terms of clothes, we fill our suitcases. In Argentina, on the beach, you can’t buy not even a pair of shorts”, says Pablo Berrios (43), who is from Buenos Aires. He is trying on a shirt with Messi’s number 10 on the back and signaling to the seller that he will want two.
Medium quality sarongs cost 60 reais (12,000 pesos) and in Pinamar they cost no less than 25,000 pesos. Bikinis, made in Brazil, start at 30,000 pesos. In Argentina, this is the price of just one of the pieces in the set.
But the unbeatable comparison is the parasol. In Canasvieiras it costs, on average, 60 reais (12,000 pesos) and in Argentina, 40,000 pesos. It is true that on the choicest beaches in Florianópolis the price is more than 100,000 pesos. However, it is worth mentioning that, in Argentina, the price includes many more services than in Brazil, which only offers the use of bathrooms.