MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay's exports closing on 10 billion US dollars in 08

Exports from one of Mercosur's junior members Uruguay could reach ten billion US dollars this year, a considerable hike from the 6.8 billion of 2007 and the original official estimate of “above 9 billion US dollars”, according to sources from the Ministry of Economy.

In a recent business forum Economy Minister Danilo Astori said that "no one should be surprised if this year we reach a record ten billion US dollars in exports", which is 30% above last year and almost eight years running of steady growth. Similarly significant is the growing percentage of capital goods imports, such as machinery, equipment and overall foreign private direct investment which keeps expanding and increasing the productive infrastructure of the country. According to official figures direct foreign investment in 2007 reached 900 million US dollars, which is similar to 2006 after subtracting the Botnia pulp mill, an exceptional event for Uruguay. This compares most favorably with the average from the first half of the nineties when foreign direct investment ranged 100 million US dollars annually and 200 million in the second half. Uruguay's GDP, depending of the exchange rate ranges between 16 and 19 billion US dollars. Although traditionally Uruguay's exports have agriculture commodities, in 2003 when exports totaled 3.1 billion US dollars, 2.2 billion were described as goods and the rest services. However the following year, of the total 4.2 billion exports, services represented over 25%, that is more than a billion US dollars. In 2005, exports reached 5.1 billion and services 1.6 billion. In 2006, overseas sales totaled 5.8 billion and services 2 billion. Another interesting aspect of Uruguay's foreign trade is that until a decade ago it was concentrated in Mercosur senior members, Argentina and Brazil, and to a certain extent United States. However, following the collapse of Brazil in January 1999 and Argentina in 2001/02, Uruguay seems to have learnt the lesson and exports are far more diversified with no single market representing more than 15/18%. The exceptions are the rubber and plastics industries which are complementary to other Mercosur members.