URUGUAY · ECONOMY
Key Facts
- The country Uruguay is a small export economy between Brazil and Argentina that sells beef, pulp, soybeans and dairy products around the world.
- What happened Uruguay’s industrial production rose 4.8% in August 2026 from August 2025, in official figures released on Tuesday 13 October.
- The refinery effect Without oil refining, output grew only 1.0%, since the refinery’s jump reflects its shutdown for part of August 2025.
- The trend Total growth picked up from 4.2% in July, and output from January to August ran 3.3% above the same months of 2025.
- The US link The United States bought US$160 million of Uruguayan goods in September, 11% of all exports, led by beef and pulp.
- Power Index Uruguay ranks 7th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 45.9 points (October 2026 edition).
- Still open The September figures, due on Wednesday 11 November, will show whether growth outside oil refining recovers from 1.0%.
Uruguay industrial production rose 4.8% in August from a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported on Tuesday 13 October. Most of that gain came from the state oil refinery, shut for repairs during part of August 2025, so its output more than doubled.
Without the refinery, factory output grew just 1.0%, down from 4.4% in July, so the rest of industry slowed sharply. For US readers, Uruguay is a supplier of beef and pulp, and the United States took 11% of its goods exports in September.
What the August Figures Show
The INE, the government’s statistics office, measures Uruguay industrial production through a monthly survey of manufacturers. Its volume index, with 2018 set at 100, stood at 117.4 in August 2026 against 112.0 a year earlier.
The 4.8% rise followed gains of 4.2% in July and 5.4% in June, after a 3.5% fall in May. Adjusted for seasonal swings, output rose 0.4% from July, after a 1.0% drop the month before.
Across the first eight months of 2026, Uruguay industrial production averaged 3.3% more than in the same period of 2025. Without the refinery, the eight-month gain was 3.0%.
Factories used 65.5% of their installed capacity in August, slightly below 67.2% a year earlier, the INE estimates. The statistics office started publishing this gauge on 11 August, based on what companies report about the use of their equipment, plant and staff.
Why the Oil Refinery Made the Difference
Refinery output can swing the whole index, and the INE also publishes a version of Uruguay industrial production without it. That series rose only 1.0% in August, compared with 4.4% in July.
The refinery’s index jumped 136.1% and added 3.8 percentage points to the 4.8% total, the INE said. It was measured against August 2025, when the refinery of ANCAP, the state-owned fuel company, stopped producing for part of the month.
The INE blamed the stoppage on repairs to the José Ignacio oil buoy, an offshore mooring on the Atlantic coast where tankers unload crude. In July, by contrast, refinery output was just 1.1% higher than a year earlier.
The gap of almost four percentage points between the two August figures reflects that rebound. Stripped of oil refining, the rest of Uruguayan manufacturing barely grew from a year earlier.
Food, Pulp and the Sectors That Fell
Food processing grew 5.4% in August, slowing from 10.5% in July, and added 2.3 points to the total. Dairy output jumped 16.1%, while meatpacking, which covers the slaughter of cattle and other livestock, fell 9.7%.
Paper and paper products rose 4.4%, and the subgroup covering pulp, paper and paperboard grew 3.5%. Pulp is Uruguay’s second-largest export this year, behind beef, according to official export figures.
Machinery and equipment output rose 84.6% and motor vehicles 32.8%, the steepest percentage gains after the refinery. Both are small industries, though, and together they added less than one point to the total.
Beverages were the biggest drag, falling 30.5% after a 32.4% drop in July and taking 1.7 points off the total. Output of electronics and optical products collapsed 90.1%, and chemicals fell 5.6%.
Factory employment did not follow output higher, as the INE’s index of people employed fell 0.9% from August 2025. Hours worked by production workers were almost flat, up 0.3% on the year.
Uruguay’s Exports and the US Market
Uruguay XXI, the government’s export and investment promotion agency, counted US$1,398 million of goods exports in September, including free-trade zones. That was 10% more than a year earlier, while exports from January to September rose 1% to US$10,372 million.
The United States was the fourth-largest buyer in September, taking US$160 million, or 11% of the total, up 14% on the year. Beef made up US$74 million of those sales and pulp US$29 million, with pulp sales down 23%.
Beef remains the top export so far this year at US$2,015 million, followed by pulp at US$1,757 million. Soybean sales fell 32% to US$832 million in the first nine months, after a drought early in the year hit the crop.
What It Means for You
For US investors and importers, Uruguay industrial production is growing, but more slowly than the 4.8% headline suggests. Outside oil refining, growth of 1.0% leaves little momentum going into the last months of the year.
US buyers of Uruguayan beef saw September shipments rise 9% in value, even as meatpacking output in August fell 9.7% from a year earlier. That index matters to importers, because beef exports depend on how many cattle reach the plants.
For the wider picture, see who runs Uruguay’s economy and how. Price trends are covered in Uruguay’s September inflation report.
What Is Not Known
It is not yet known whether the refinery ran normally in September, when it faces an even weaker base. Its index stood at just 1.1 in September 2025, which means it barely produced that month.
The September figures, due on Wednesday 11 November, will also show whether growth outside oil refining recovers from 1.0%. The INE gave no reason for the 30% fall in beverage output, the second such drop in a row.
The index of Uruguay industrial production measures volume only, so it says nothing about factory prices or profits. It also leaves out farm output such as soybeans, Uruguay’s top export in September.
More: Uruguay news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the 4.8% figure for Uruguay industrial production measure?
It compares the volume of manufacturing output in August 2026 with August 2025, using the INE’s index with 2018 set at 100. It covers factories from food processing to the oil refinery, but not farming or mining.
Why does the figure without the refinery matter?
Refinery output can jump or fall sharply from one year to the next, as it did after a shutdown for part of August 2025. In August 2026, Uruguay industrial production without the refinery rose only 1.0%, compared with 4.8% overall.
How much does Uruguay export to the United States?
In September 2026, Uruguay exported US$160 million of goods to the United States, 11% of its total. Beef accounted for US$74 million and pulp for US$29 million, according to Uruguay XXI.
Which industries grew fastest in August?
After the refinery, machinery rose 84.6% and motor vehicles 32.8% from a year earlier, though both are small industries. Food processing grew 5.4% and made the second-biggest contribution, while beverages fell 30.5%.
Sources: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Índice de Volumen Físico de la Industria Manufacturera (IVFIM), Agosto 2026 (release of 13 October 2026), 13 October 2026; INE, Informe técnico IVFIM Agosto 2026 (IN-ECO-IVF-2026-M-08-V.1.0), 13 October 2026; INE, IVFIM Julio 2026, 11 September 2026; INE, IVFIM series base 2018 = 100 (volume, employment and hours indices), 13 October 2026; Uruguay XXI, Informe Mensual de Comercio Exterior, Setiembre 2026, October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief