(Bloomberg) -- International trips and even coffee are among the expenditures nixed in Brazil’s economy ministry this year as part of the government’s cost-cutting efforts.

Economy Minister Paulo Guedes banned the purchase of a range of goods and services, including consulting and furniture, for the remainder of the year. The decision seeks the rationalization and reduction of expenditures, according to a measure signed by the minister and published in the official gazette on Thursday.

The move signals how far President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration is willing to go to rein in a persistent budget deficit. Policy makers are betting on a pension reform and privatization of state-controlled companies to boost public accounts. Yet they have been hamstrung by an increase in obligatory spending mandated by the country’s constitution, while weaker economic growth has also undercut tax income.

Despite the restrictions, Guedes will still be able to attend events abroad such as conferences hosted by the International Monetary Fund, economy ministry executive-secretary Marcelo Guaranys told reporters on Thursday, saying that those travels would be considered as exceptions.

Brazil was stripped of its investment-grade status in 2015 amid rating company scrutiny of the government’s fiscal policy. Latin America’s largest economy hasn’t posted a primary surplus -- which excludes the cost of servicing its debt -- since 2013.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Gamarski in Brasilia at rgamarski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Walter Brandimarte at wbrandimarte@bloomberg.net, ;Daniela Milanese at dmilanese@bloomberg.net, Matthew Malinowski

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