Pulp climbs to become Uruguay top export in June

Exports of goods from Uruguay plunged 31% year-on-year in June and totaled US$ 5.661 billion in the first half of 2023, a drop of 18% compared to the same period last year, measured in dollars, according to data from Uruguay XXI. The exception has been pulp exports, which was the product that showed the most significant growth in Uruguay.

See below the movement of containerized cargo as imports and exports between Jan 2019 and May 2023. The data is from DataLiner.

Uruguay container movement | Jan 2019 – May 2023 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

The main reason for the decline is the collapse of soy exports (-76%), which were affected by the historic drought and fell to a quarter of what they were in the first half of 2022.

Beef exports also fell 32% due to lower slaughter (also related to the drought) and weaker external demand, especially from China.

On the other hand, exports of dairy products (+6%) and particularly pulp (+27% in the semester) increased in Uruguay. The UPM plant in Paso de los Toros exported 72 thousand tonnes of pulp in June and became Uruguay’s top export product last month.

Source: Subrayado

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