When it comes to buying toilet paper, Brazilians are finding their money just doesn't go as far as it used to. Toilet paper makers are trimming the length of their rolls while Brazil is battling a two-ply crisis rooted in the economic chaos in neighboring Argentina and a local energy shortage. Dollar-denominated pulp costs are up because Brazil's currency, the real, is down at record lows—a contagion effect from the Argentine economy. And production costs are rising because electricity rationing requires the use of generators and changes in the manufacturing process. A company could compensate for higher costs by raising prices for consumers or by sizing down packages. The toilet paper companies took the latter approach, prompting consumer watchdogs to blow the whistle.*“They want to increase prices without the consumers noticing,”said Vera Marta Junqueira, director of surveys at consumer protection agency Procon in Sao Paulo.“It is a type of trickery.”In its monthly supermarket surveys for basic necessities, Procon found that leading brands like Neve and Personal cut the length of rolls by 25 percent from 44 yards to 33 yards, but not the prices.