Uruguay: Exporters report “excellent” 2023 for live cattle market

Uruguay-based National Meat Instituts released updated data on live cattle exports for the year 2023, reaching nearly 300,000 heads.

“It was an excellent campaign, not only in terms of volumes attained but also in values and the opportunity it represented, which sustained prices throughout a very complicated year,” commented Gustavo Basso, a cattle consignor in the Department of Florida.

In an interview on the radio program “Valor Agregado” on Carve, Basso added, “Exports gave way to an upward trend despite the country’s forage issues, and that is what makes it noteworthy.”

Of the almost 300,000 heads exported in 2023, 93% went to Turkey. When asked about his expectations for 2024, the consignor mentioned that the government is granting 10% more licenses than the previous year.

Basso further noted, “As long as Uruguay maintains competitive prices, it can perform very well. In other words, the possibilities exist; we have to see if the prices are competitive to Brazil, which is one of the main suppliers.”

On the other hand, Basso stated, “We should not overlook other markets, which do not have the relevance in terms of volume and price that Turkey has but are also active.”

Looking ahead to the next calf generation, the consignor from Florida expressed optimistic expectations for the price of whole calves, stating, “The outlook is very auspicious for the development of replacement cattle in general, which will be determinant to know what the level of participation in live cattle exports will be.” Additionally, the opportunity to do business with 400-kilogram cattle will continue to be available this year.

Following the previous calf crop, “exports never ceased to exist; export-oriented companies continued to operate permanently, with values that did not keep pace with increases in the export market,” Basso concluded.

Source: El País, English translation by DatamarNews

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