MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan exports in eight months reach 4.4 billion US dollars

Soy beans and beef are the country’s main export items

Uruguayan exports in the first eight months of 2010 reached 4.475 billion US dollars which is 22% higher than the same period of last year, according to official data released this week.

The main export item has been soy beans with 692 million US dollars or 15.5% of the total and 51% higher than the same period in 2009.

The second item was frozen beef with 12.9% of total exports equivalent to 575 million US dollars.

Rice follows with 314 million USD or 5.7% of total sales, but this is 19.1% less that the previous year mainly because of a (76%) drop in sales to Iraq

The main destination of Uruguayan exports in the eight months was Brazil with 19.2% of the total with a 22.1% increase in the period.

Nueva Palmira Free Zone figures second with 12.3%. Argentina comes third with 12.25% but an increase of 43% compared to the same period in 2009.

Exports to China soared 71% compared to 2009 which figures as Uruguay’s fourth trade partner. However if the Nueva Palmira data in analyzed, China climbs further since 30% of sales through the Free Zone end up with the Asian giant.

Of Uruguay’s twenty leading trade partners, exports to all of them increased in the eight month period with the exception of the UK where sales dropped 20%. In the other 19, the increase rate varied from 399% to Portugal to 5.6% in the case of Mexico.

By blocks, Mercosur, Chile and Venezuela concentrated 34% of Uruguayan exports, followed by the European Union with 15% and Nafta (Mexico, US, Canada) 6%.

The official report says imports in the eight months of 2010 totalled 4.2 billion US dollars, 31% higher than in the same 2009 period. This means that in the period analyzed Uruguay’s foreign trade in goods totalled 8.6 billion US dollars.