In recent years, the small Brazilian city of Extrema has become one of the country’s leading logistics hubs, a trajectory only furthered by the pandemic and Brazil’s subsequent e-commerce boom. With just 37,600 inhabitants, the municipality to the south of Minas Gerais state is attracting retail giants from around the country and pulling the surrounding region’s economy up in the process.
Extrema’s success derives from the combination of two factors: its geographical location and local tax rules. Situated on the southernmost point of Minas Gerais state, the city is only around 100 kilometers from Greater São Paulo, Brazil’s biggest economic…