Uruguay’s exports post 6% yoy increase

Uruguay’s exports last month totaled U$S 912 million, according to a report released earlier this week in Montevideo by the Uruguay XXI Institute. Beef, cellulose, dairy products, and rice were the main items behind this achievement representing a 6% yoy increase.

Beef alone accounted for US$ 202 million worth of sales, or 22% of total exports following an interannual 15% increase in value plus a 1% growth in volume.

The United States was the main destination, with purchases reaching US$ 77 million, or 38% of total sales to that country. On the other hand, China recorded a 20% drop to reach US$ 54 million while the European Union came in third with US$ 33 million (or 16% of total beef exports, which also represented a 46% increase year-on-year).

Cellulose was the second product with a 15% share for revenues worth US$ 135 million, or 9% less than in 2024 after 259,542 tons were sold abroad, mainly to the European Union (EU), where purchases quadrupled those of January 2024 reaching US$ 66 million (49% of total exports). With a 45% share, China was the second destination for this category.

Right behind were dairy products with a year-on-year increase of 2% and US$ 77 million exported, chiefly to Algeria (31% of sales, representing US$ 24 million), a 40% growth from 2024.

Brazil, with a 22% drop year-on-year, was second with purchases totaling US$ 22 million. South America’s largest country represented 29% of dairy exports, followed by Mauritania’s US$ 4 million worth of purchases. The main product exported in this category continued to be whole milk powder (US$ 52 million), followed by butter (US$ 9 million).

The chart below shows the upward trajectory of sweetened milk and cream maritime shipments from Uruguay into Brazil between January 2021 and December 2024. The data comes from DataLiner.

Sweetened Milk & Cream Imports from Uruguay | Jan 2021 – Dec 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Rice exports totaled US$ 68 million, and were the fourth most exported product in 2025 after an 83% yoy growth. Costa Rica was the main destination, with a 20% share yielding US$14 million.

From an overall angle, Brazil was the main destination for Uruguay’s sales abroad (18%) with shipments totaling US$ 169 million, a 6% fall from the same month the previous year.

Standing behind was China with sales worth US$ 153 million, a 24% decrease compared to 2024 due to fewer pulp sales.

The EU consolidated as a key destination for Uruguayan products (15% of all sales abroad) as transactions doubled in a yoy comparison to reach US$ 139 million. Cellulose was the main product, with beef and veal sales posting a 46% improvement to yield US$ 33 million.

Coming right behind in fourth and fifth place respectively were the United States and Argentina.

Source: MercoPress

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