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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 5th 2025 - 22:48 UTC

Agriculture

  • Thursday, March 6th 2025 - 10:27 UTC

    Drought will bring produce prices up in Paraguay

    Paraguay's Economy Minister Carlos Fernández forecast a difficult 2025 given the drought affecting agricultural production and thus driving prices upward. In this scenario, he underlined the need for innovative policies and constant review of institutional work as the Government of President Santiago Peña aims to provide necessary resources for health, education, security, and social transfers while improving public spending.

  • Wednesday, March 5th 2025 - 09:12 UTC

    China halts meat imports from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mongolia

    The main Argentine plant affected by the measure insisted on the lagging exchange rate between the peso and the US dollar as a key factor for the business to be profitable

    China’s customs authorities have suspended beef imports from seven meatpacking facilities across Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mongolia as of March 3, 2025. The affected companies include two Argentine exporters (Frigorífico Regional General Las Heras SA and Frio Dock SA), three Brazilian slaughterhouses (Frisa Frigorífico Rio Doce S/A, Bon-Mart Frigorífico Ltda, and JBS S/A), one Uruguayan facility (Frigorífico Sirsil SA), and a Mongolian supplier. No official reason for the measure was provided, though it follows a 2024 record of 2.87 million metric tons of beef imports, which led to an oversupplied market and historically low domestic beef prices in China.

  • Friday, February 28th 2025 - 10:07 UTC

    Paraguay passes EU beef production standards review

    Until last January, the European bloc represented 2% of all overseas sales of these products

    Paraguay's National Animal Health and Quality Service (Senacsa) confirmed this week that the European Union's (EU) Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante) has satisfactorily concluded an audit of the South American country's beef production. Conducted in September 2024, the audit evaluated official controls and certification systems, including checks on pharmacologically active substances, pesticides, and contaminants.

  • Wednesday, February 26th 2025 - 09:37 UTC

    Export of live animals do not violate Brazilian law, federal court ruling

    The export of live animals, cattle and sheep, are a booming business in Mercosur countries.

    A Brazilian Federal Court has ruled that the export of live animals for slaughter does not violate Brazilian law. The unanimous decision of the Federal Court overturned a lower court ruling that had suspended the activity at all Brazilian ports.

  • Monday, February 24th 2025 - 09:22 UTC

    China sells corn seeds to Argentina

    These seeds are known as the “chips of agriculture,” it was explained

    Citing sources in the eastern city of Qingdao, China's news service Xinhua reported Monday that 20 kilograms of corn seeds were shipped to Argentina in late January after being quarantined by the Asian country's customs. These seeds are known as the “chips of agriculture,” it was also explained as Chinese authorities deemed this export as a milestone.

  • Saturday, February 22nd 2025 - 10:49 UTC

    New Uruguayan meat packing plant joins list of companies hit by uncertainty

    Basso's death unleashed a series of obscure deeds that keep sinking Uruguayan meat packing into uncertainty

    A new crisis in a meat packing plant in Uruguay left some 160 workers fearing for their livelihoods after the Paso de los Toros company halted operations, thus adding to the growing list of plants in crisis, which already included Scheneck, Casa Blanca, Lorsinal, and Rondatel, all of them in connection with the fraud scandal involving the financial company Conexión Ganadera, whose director, Gustavo Basso, died in a traffic accident amidst investor claims.

  • Wednesday, February 19th 2025 - 08:42 UTC

    Uruguay on avian flu alert after detection in Argentina

    The outbreak is limited to Tres Isletas, in the Argentine province of Chaco

    Uruguay's Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) declared a state of health alert due to an outbreak of avian influenza in Tres Isletas, in the Argentine province of Chaco, it was reported Tuesday in Montevideo. The measure seeks to protect public health and national poultry production as the malady poses risks to biodiversity, the poultry sector, and public health. It can cause sudden bird mortality, respiratory and neurological symptoms, hemorrhages, and diarrhea, it was also explained.

  • Saturday, February 15th 2025 - 10:35 UTC

    Paraguay hopes to double beef exports to Morocco

    Morocco opened its Embassy in Asunción earlier this year

    Paraguayan meat shipments to Morocco are expected to double after a team from the South American country met with buyers this week to discuss cooperation in the agricultural sector, with an emphasis on accessing advanced technology and essential fertilizers. Presiding over the mission to Rabat was Representative Carlos Alberto Núñez Salinas of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino).

  • Wednesday, February 12th 2025 - 21:26 UTC

    January FAO Food Price Index down 1,6% from December but 6,2% higher year ago

    The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index decreased by 5.6% from the previous month, reversing a recent increase, though it remained 24.9% higher than a year ago

    The FAO Food Price Index, the benchmark for world food commodity prices, declined in January, averaging 124.9 points during the month, down 1.6% from its December level. The drop was driven by significant decreases in the international quotations for vegetable oils and sugar, FAO reported.

  • Tuesday, February 11th 2025 - 19:26 UTC

    Taiwan largest market for Paraguayan pork exports

    Overall, Paraguayan pork shipments grew both in volume and revenue over the past year

    Taipei's Embassy in Asunción confirmed this week that Paraguay's pork exports to Taiwan grew by 108% last year, thus grabbing an 87% share of the South American country's shipments of the product, yielding revenues around US$ 29 million.