RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguayan exports, including free zones, totaled US$1.056 billion in March 2022. This figure represents an increase of 28% compared to the same month in 2021, which is a rising trend, as exports in February increased 51% compared to February 2021.
“It confirms the growing trend of exports in the first three months of 2022. The products that explain this increase are beef (with an incidence of 7.1%), wheat (6.4%), rice (3.7%), cellulose (3.0%), soybeans (2.8%) and vehicles (2.4%).
On the other hand, livestock, malt and wood and its by-products had a negative impact of 2.2%, 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively,” according to the monthly foreign trade report for March 2022 published by Uruguay XXI, the agency responsible for promoting exports, investment and the country’s image.
The same report shows that cumulative exports in the first three months of 2022 reached a total of US$2.896 billion. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 37%.
Beef continues to be the product with the highest share in Uruguayan exports. Compared to March 2021, it registered an increase of 28%. In this sense, China and the United States were the main consumers of Uruguayan meat.
In second place of the most consumed products is wheat, which has increased not only the volume of sales but also the price due to the economic consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The January-March quarter of 2022 closes with exports of US$160 million, 120% more than in the first quarter of 2021″, reports Uruguay XXI.
The third most sold product in the list of exports was another cereal, rice. These amounted to US$44 million in March, tripling year-on-year. At the same time, sales of pulp increased by 23%. “The main destination countries for this product were Venezuela (27%), Cuba (23%), Brazil (13%), Costa Rica (14%) and the Netherlands (5%),” the agency said.
In an analysis of the destinations to which Uruguay exports, Uruguay XXI highlights that “sales to Uruguay’s main partners increased compared to March 2021, with the exception of the European Union, whose purchases decreased by 5.6%.”
In addition, “export requests to China increased by 6%o Brazil by 13.5%o the United States by 20., andto Argentina by 53%. The next largest destinations were Algeria (146.2%) and Chile (80.4%).”
INCREASE IN FEBRUARY
Beef was also the product with the highest positive incidence in February 2022. Last month, exports including free zones, totaled US$1.02 billion, up 51% from the same month in 2021.
The XXI Monthly Report on Uruguay’s Foreign Trade indicates that sales of “dairy products, rice, wheat, cellulose, vehicles, barley and wood” had a positive impact.
In the annual view of January and February 2022, exports already reached a total value of US$1.862 billion, an increase of 44% compared to the previous year.
Beef was exported for US$247 million, representing 24% of total foreign sales. This figure also represents an 85% increase over February 2021.
“Against a backdrop of solid foreign demand, the average export price boosted sales, increasing 32% year-on-year. At the same time, the placed volume grew by 40% in the same period,” the report said.
Regarding the destinations of Uruguayan beef, China was the main buyer, with 59% of total sales of this product, but also with a growth in February of 115% compared to the same month of 2021.