Brazil, Latin America's economic behemoth, is in dire need of structural reforms and reduced government bloat to fuel sustainable growth, analysts say.

That, they add, will not happen overnight and will take massive political will.

"Brazil's problem is that it carries a heavy load: the State," said economist Pedro Tuesta of the Washington consulting firm 4Cast.

"There needs to be a radical change in the role of the State. Prioritise the country's infrastructure more than control the private sector," he argued.

In 2010, the economy posted 7.5 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth after contracting 0.2 per cent in the wake of the 2008 subprime crisis.

But three years later, the country grew a paltry 2.7 per cent and an anaemic 0.9 per cent last year.

This year the economy is projected to expand 2.5 per cent.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff rejects criticism of the country's economic performance as unfounded.

"We are the only major country with full employment. We have posted the third-best growth figures in the world during the second quarter. Whoever bets against Brazil will always lose," she added.

The world's top producer of coffee, sugar and orange juice and one of the biggest producers of meat, soybeans and iron ore, Brazil has benefited from high commodity prices.

So, why the end to high growth?

"This price increase was artificial, fuelled by zero interest rates in the United States (which boosted its stricken economy) and the huge demand (for commodities) from China," said economist Enrique Alvarez of New York-based IdeaGlobal.

Brazil, now the world's seventh largest economy, also boosted domestic demand. Its middle class expanded and improved its purchasing power amid a continuing low jobless rate.

With the domestic currency, the real, appreciating against the US dollar, Brazilians increasingly travelled and shopped abroad, a trend that is continuing despite the real now depreciating.

But now the commodity price boom is over. And stimulus packages could be phased out at any time in major economies.

Meanwhile, strong domestic demand and a global drought are pushing local prices upward while inflation is approaching the upper limit of the official target set at 6.5 per cent.

The Central Bank increased its base rate to nine per cent to rein in surging consumer prices, which impacted growth.

Faced with chronically inadequate domestic infrastructure, Brazil is now trying to stimulate private investment to finance ports, highways and multi-million-dollar oil projects by state-run energy giant Petrobras to tap the country's huge deep-water oil reserves.

"We see positive initiatives, infrastructure concessions ... But for the country to grow 2.5 per cent, we need structural reforms. We need to reduce the tax burden, have more competitive (interest) rates, huge investment in infrastructure," said Andre Gerdau, president of the steel group Gerdau.

The government recently held two auctions for highway construction, but one didn't attract any bidders.

In a recent meeting with entrepreneurs in New York, Rousseff vowed to respect the rules of the game for investors.

But analysts believe that the so-called "Brazil Cost," the excessive operational costs associated with doing business in the country, is a barrier to increased growth through the private sector and investment.

For Alvarez, the issue is still how to restructure state machinery and in turn stimulate business creation and job creation.

Market analysts expect the World Cup, which Brazil will host next year, will result in 2.2 per cent GPD growth.

But in the short term, the country will still reel from problems associated with the global economic instability.