Mexico Authorizes Uruguay for Dairy and Meat Imports

On September 5, 2023, Uruguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the social media platform X, announcing that Mexican sanitary authorities had approved the entry of dairy product imports from 20 Uruguayan plants until December 2025. This announcement complements the authorization for refrigeration plants and entry authorizations for boneless aged lamb and beef imports, all of them completed this year.

"These achievements are the result of cooperation between both countries and the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Uruguayan Embassy in Mexico. They have overcome non-tariff barriers and created opportunities for domestic production and labor," stated the message.

The ministry pointed out that there will be changes in the logistics regarding trade between the two countries. According to the statement, from now on, exported merchandise will undergo verification upon its arrival at the destination ports, in contrast to the previous practice that required Mexican inspectors to verify it before its departure from Uruguay. Uruguay highlighted that this authorization will facilitate the resumption of the trade flow to Mexico for these products, after three years of inactivity.

According to the monthly report from the Union of Exporters of Uruguay, exports of goods decreased by 14.6% on a year-on-year basis in August 2023, reaching US$919 million. Brazil was the primary destination for the country's exports, accounting for 20.49% of its foreign sales, while China ranked second with 14.03% and the US third with 7.59%. During this period, meat stood out as the main exported product, amounting to US$206 million. 

In 2022, Mexico's primary export to Uruguay were iron and steel flat-rolled products, which accounted for US$33.6 million. Meanwhile, Mexico's top import from Uruguay were mixtures of odoriferous substances and mixtures for beverage production reaching US$112 million.