Uruguay’s revenue from meat exports dropped 25% year-on-year, some US$ 350 million less, according to data released this week by the National Meat Institute (INAC). In the first five months of 2023, US$ 1.055 billion worth of bovine meat was exported, clearly below the US$ 1.408 billion obtained in the same period of 2022.
According to an Uruguayan Exporters Union (UEU) report released Thursday, orders from abroad have increased by 28% interannually, reaching a total of US$ 1.076 billion.
Argentina has recorded a 4.8% decline in meat consumption per inhabitant despite caps on exports imposed by the administration of President Alberto Fernández, which allegedly sought to prioritize the domestic market.
Uruguayan meat sales to Japan have been growing at an increasingly faster pace, according to press reports. In 2019, trade was worth US $ 20 million; in 2020, US $ 24 million and so far in 2021, revenues in dollars have grown 72% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to Montevideo Portal.
Indian buffalo meat exports have grown to record levels in the last two years, making India the fourth country in the world to export more than 1 million tons of bovine meat annually.