MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

More Uruguayan exporters greenlighted for frozen bone sales to China

“This achievement is one more step that reinforces the important bilateral relationship between both nations,” Uruguay's Foreign Ministry stated

Chinese authorities authorized 27 Uruguayan companies to export frozen bone meat cuts in what Montevideo dubbed an “achievement” that “strengthens” the relationship between the two countries.

According to the Uruguayan Exporters Union (UEU), China positioned itself again in 2022 as the main destination for Uruguayan exports, in which meat is the most sold product.

Uruguay's Foreign Ministry also explained that the new 27 beneficiaries are added to the over 30 already existing.

The announcement came amid friction between Mercosur members who do not approve of Uruguay's unilateral deals with other countries or blocs, claiming that such undertakings are against the rules of the South American common market's founding Treaty of Asunción.

Uruguay's negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China are a part of President Luis Lacalle Pou's “flexibilization” and “modernization” approach.

According to a statement from Uruguay's Foreign Ministry, the latest achievement is the result of joint work which also included private traders and the Livestock Ministry, which represents “the closing of a year of fruitful exchange on sanitary issues with the Chinese authorities ... under the new ... registration regime to export frozen bone to China.”

”The official publication on the website of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) is awaited to continue the trade of this product. This achievement is one more step that reinforces the important bilateral relationship between both nations,” the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry also stated.

On July 13, President Lacalle Pou announced that, once the feasibility study had been completed, Uruguay and China were ready to start negotiations to sign an FTA.

Despite a warning from Mercosur partners Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, Uruguay moved on with extra bloc dealings but admitted it was willing to participate in possible agreements between Mercosur and China.