Uruguay’s economy grows strongly due to high yields from soybean crop

The Uruguayan economy continued to grow in the second quarter of 2022.

Gross domestic product (GDP) registered a 7.7% increase compared to the same quarter of 2021, while economic activity increased by 1.1% compared to the period between January and March this year, according to data from the National Accounts of the Central Bank of Uruguay.

The official document attributes the growth “mainly to the high yields of the soybean crop” and the normalization of sanitary conditions, affecting education.

The physical volume of exports of goods and services grew 16.3 percent year-on-year, up 4.7 points.

Meanwhile, consumer spending registered an increase of 6.1 percent and investment of 3.9 percent compared to the second quarter of last year.

AGRICULTURE LEADS THE WAY

In terms of economic sectors, agriculture, fishing, and mining recorded a year-on-year growth of 17.1%, an incidence of 1.2 points.

The increase was due to higher soybean production.

Health, education, real estate, and other services recorded growth of 11.1%, an increase of 2.4 percentage points. The national accounts report links the increase to the “few hours” of schooling in 2021.

Construction activity increased 4.9% yearly, driven by an increase in residential construction and the assembly of UPM’s second pulp mill.

Transport and communications grew by 9.5% and trade and hospitality by 6.1%.

On the other hand, manufacturing recorded a year-on-year increase of 2.1%, due to the production of pulp, which was lower in the same period of 2021 due to the maintenance of one of the plants.

Oil refining also had an impact.

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