MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan exports grow 28% in March of 2022

In March 2021 Uruguay sold US$ 18.4 million worth of livestock to China. That figure dropped to zero in March 2022

Uruguay's exports rose 28% in March of 2022 when compared to the same month last year, according to the Uruguay XXI report released Friday in Montevideo, which took into account figures from duty-free trade zones. Beef was once again the star product.

Sales of Uruguayan products abroad totaled US$ 1,056 million, with China and the United States accounting for 75% of last month's shipments. Both countries increased their purchases by US$ 5.3 and US$ 3.6 million, respectively.

The accumulated figure for exports throughout the first quarter of the year has thus reached US$ 2,896 million, it was reported.

Wheat came right behind beef, with an increase both in volume and price due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. The first quarter of 2022 ended up with US$ 160 million worth of wheat exported, a 120% improvement from the same quarter of 2021.

Rice was the third product with the highest incidence during March. Its sales grew to US$ 44 million more and tripled in year-on-year terms. In the first quarter of this year, rice sales were 86% higher than last year.

Behind beef, wheat, and rice, came cellulose, soybean, and vehicles, while live cattle, malt, and wood had negative impacts on last month's variation.

As for those products that recorded a drop in sales, live cattle stands out. In March 2021 they closed at US$ 18.4 million (entirely purchased by China) and dropped to zero in March 2022. Malt exports, which were US$ 21.3 million in March last year, fell to US$ 8 million. Brazil and Paraguay reduced their purchases by US$ 10.8 and US$ 2.7 million, respectively.

In terms of clients, there were increases in sales to Uruguay's main partners with respect to March 2021, but purchases from the European Union fell 5.6%. There was an increase in exports to China (6%), Brazil (13.5%), the United States (20.1%) and Argentina (53%), Algeria (146.2%), and Chile (80.4%).