Uruguay bets on entering China’s poultry meat market

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguay will be able to export poultry meat, offal, and poultry by-products to Macao, an autonomous region on the southern coast of mainland China, an achievement that is considered the first step for Uruguayan poultry production to enter the market of the Asian giant, a goal deemed to be of the highest relevance in this productive sector.

Exports can be made without signing a protocol or registering slaughter establishments, confirmed Adriana Lupinacci, director of the International Affairs Unit (UAI) of the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries (MGAP).

Furthermore, in another important attraction, the entry will be without the need to pay tariffs.

The Chancellery of the Republic announced the opening of this meat market -which in November had also been opened for sheep and bovine meat-; according to the ministry, this represents “a great boost for the national industry” and is “another step forward in the strategic economic relations with China”.

Macao has autonomy from the Beijing government to deal with its commercial and sanitary matters. This autonomy allowed it to sign the sanitary authorization for Uruguay.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that this opening resulted from joint work between the ministry, the UAI, and the General Directorate of Livestock Services of the MGAP, with the coordination of the National Meat Institute (INAC) and the private sector.

A STEP TOWARDS ENTERING CHINA

For poultry meat producers, this announcement was excellent news. The Uruguayan Chamber of Poultry Processors (Cupra) expressed on Twitter: “Macao is the first step to enter that region of Asia; we hope to reach Hong Kong and China soon.”

In the framework of the 10th Chicken and Hen Festival, which took place in San Bautista over the weekend, the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries (MGAP), Fernando Mattos, announced that the ministry was moving forward in the authorization of the Hong Kong market and assured that this, together with Macao, are “two markets that will allow us to enter the Chinese market”.

Cupra president, Fernando Stanham, explained that “there is like a ladder to enter China, which is our aspiration”.

“First, we must enter Macau and then Hong Kong, which we hope will happen in a few months,” he added.

As he detailed, the market’s most important and most demanded products are claws, chicken wings, legs, and whole chicken. “There is a preference similar to that of China, which can help us start exercising the market”, he detailed.

TOURIST HUB

“Macao is a significant tourist and hotel center that receives mainly visitors from the Asian continent. This market has a booming economy, more than 600,000 inhabitants, and an annual import volume of US$400 million,” said Lupinacci.

Considering that there is a significant presence of five-star hotels and gastronomic development, this is an opportunity.

From the Chancellery, they expressed that it also represents a great opportunity because it is a great demander of poultry meat and a high-value market as a tourist center.

“The opening of this market represents a great boost for the national industry”, indicates a statement from the portfolio.

A CHALLENGE FOR THE SECTOR

Stanham said that “this is a new challenge that the sector has set itself and that the government is firmly supporting: to turn the national poultry sector into a sustainable exporter”.

Uruguay currently exports claws, cull hens, and whole chickens. Annually the sector exports 1,000 tons. He said some of the export destinations are Argentina, Mozambique, Congo, and Kuwait.

“Uruguay exports so little because neither the sector nor the government ever considered setting up a system of access to high-quality markets,” said the former president of INAC, adding that Macao as a market presents a good economic opportunity because while the average Uruguayan export price is US$800 per ton, in that market, the meat is valued at US$2,000 per ton.