Uruguay meat export revenues reach US$2.3 billion through October

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguay exported, as of the tenth month of the year, US$2.3 billion in the meat sector, 53% more than in the same period of 2020. Likewise, 530,000 tons were sold between October 2020 and 2021. The figure exceeds the record of 480,000 tons achieved in 2006.

The head of the National Meat Institute, Conrado Ferber, attributed these achievements to the fact that the country improved its industry and the number of calves and took advantage of international circumstances.

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Ferber, according to a press release, said that his country is the eighth largest meat exporter in the world and that the factors that made possible the successful results were external and internal. He stated that 2021 is a record in meat exports, in prices, markets and units slaughtered, and that it surpasses 2006.

In his opinion, the country was adequately positioned to face the great demand of the Chinese market, since it has a large number of cattle in the herd, a strong industry, and an adequate sanitary system.

He explained that locally, there was a change in the agricultural production system that allowed keeping fewer veteran cattle, slaughtering younger steers, and achieving a stock of around 3 million calves.

In the international sphere, the official detailed the problems between Australia and China, the drought problems and the mad cow disease that damaged Brazil and left it out of the Chinese market, the self-exclusion of Argentina, and the fact that the western part of the United States was also affected by droughts.

“That combo, in the face of a big Chinese demand for beef, led the country to have a great year. It was a good moment for this to happen, the country needed it”, emphasized Ferber, who said that it is necessary for the producer to continue raising animals on pasture or barnyard.

“The government made it clear that the export valve for live animals will be open during this period, that we are not thinking of imposing taxes and we work with the tranquility of being able to project in time. We have to show that the agricultural sector will be the locomotive that will drive the economy forward”, he pondered.

For Ferber, an effort must be made to apply some more technology in the productive sector and to achieve, for example, early weaning, in order to generate a greater number of calves.

In relation to the work of the National Meat Institute (INAC), he referred to the promotion abroad in order to increase volumes and value. To this end, campaigns are being carried out in important markets, such as China, the United States, Brazil, and the European Union, he said.

The official revealed that the members of the Meat Importers Council of the United States (MICA) are in agreement that a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries should be signed in order to improve access to Uruguayan meat in that country. “For the U.S. consumer, low-fat Uruguayan meat is very important,” he added.

The official also mentioned that five ambassadors, from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, accredited to the Uruguayan Government, but based in Buenos Aires, will visit his country to learn about national meat products.

“They understood that it is worthwhile to start working and they have high hopes of creating a fast system and exporting to this market that involves some 650 million people who buy 6% of the meat exported in the world. There is a lot of room for growth, they are adopting western customs, and we are very hopeful that the agreement will crystallize”, said Ferber.

Regarding the tariffs that are paid when doing business, he warned that, for exports, they represent a disadvantage in terms of competitiveness. “Having an FTA with China ensures competitiveness in the market,” he explained.

INAC’s Information Manager, Jorge Acosta, advised that between January and October, the total sale of Uruguayan goods and services is US$8.7 billion and that meat represents more than 25% of that sum.

Acosta added that the main destinations of these products are China, with 57%; the North American Free Trade Agreement, a conglomerate formed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States (formerly known as Nafta), with 13%; the European Union, with 12%; Mercosur, with 5%; Israel, with 3%, and Japan, with 2%. Beef represents 81% of total exports, with an average value of US$5,831 per ton, followed by offal and residual by-products, both with 5%.

The interviewee detailed that more than 530,000 tons were placed between October 2020 and the same month of 2021, higher than the record of 2006, which was 480,000 tons.

He valued that in 2021 all the markets have been recovered and others have appeared, after 2020 in which business with China was quite reduced. The Asian country is the first trading partner, with more than 60% of revenues and prices that have grown exponentially, he added.

“The key is that you have to slaughter an animal and place all the products. China is a market that absorbs all the animal products at a very good value and with reasonable tariffs,” said Acosta, pointing out that, in general, 75% of the product is exported and 25% is sold on the domestic market.

SLAUGHTER

Acosta pointed out that as of October 2021, more than 2,200,000 animals were slaughtered, an average annual figure for the last 4 or 5 years. “It is an interesting herd extraction, which was made possible by the exceptional market conditions, which found Uruguay prepared, both in production and feeding of cattle at pasture and feedlot and with the industry that faces those markets,” he confirmed.

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