
Finland’s energy and pulp UPM group has again been named among the world's sustainability leaders. The company has retained its position in both the Dow Jones European and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for 2013-2014. Furthermore, the company has been assessed as the industry leader in environmental sustainability within the Paper and Forest Products sector with top scores.

The British Ambassador in Montevideo, Ben Lyster-Binns, and the President of Uruguay’s National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII) Omar Macadar, signed this week an agreement to create the Chevening-ANII scholarships.

CHS Inc., a United States farmer-owned cooperative and a global agribusiness, announced it has opened an office at Montevideo, Uruguay, making it the fourth South American nation in which CHS has operations.

The second pulp mill in Uruguay, Montes del Plata is not expected to begin operations until the first half of next year, according to the latest reports from the same corporation which is an association of Chile’s Copec and Finland’s Stora Enso.

The foreign trade performance of Latin America and the Caribbean reflects the weak global economy. Regional export values are expected to grow by just 1.5% in 2013 (3% in volumes and -1.5% in prices) - which is similar to the 1.4% growth observed in 2012.

President Jose Mujica said that Uruguay is ‘aligned’ with Brazil in economic policy, and if the government of President Dilma Rousseff decides to devalue its currency, “Uruguay will follow” and as Brazil, “Uruguay is not satisfied with the functioning of Mercosur”.

Argentina promised to be ‘inflexible” with the UPM pulp mill on Uruguayan territory, if it tries to increase production as it has requested, thus again opening a new controversy with Uruguay which has pledged to answer the (2011) expansion request in the last week of September. Presidents Cristina Fernandez and Jose Mujica are scheduled to meet in Buenos Aires at the end of the month.

The World Economic Forum Competitiveness report published last week shows Latinamerica is loosing ground in the world economy and the three countries which most plunged in the ranking in the last twelve months were: Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay.

Uruguay’ President Jose Mujica said the decision authorizing a possible expansion, or not, of the UPM/Botnia pulp mill is closely linked to Argentina and the construction of a third plant along an inside Uruguayan river and not a shared one as is the case now.

The bilateral conflict between Argentina and Uruguay over the UPM/Botnia pulp mill, on the Uruguayan side of the Uruguay River is once again leading to tension between the two neighbours amid reports that the plant’s Finnish owners plan to increase production from 1.1 to 1.3 million tons of cellulose paste per year.