Agriculture report

Resumen ejecutivo 

• The endowment of natural resources and productive factors gives Uruguay comparative advantages in food production. With more than 90% of the surface area suitable for agricultural activity, Uruguay is a reliable global supplier of food and agricultural products.

• The agricultural sector represents between 6% and 7% of GDP in Uruguay (2019-2022). When including associated sub-sectors and industries, it is often referred to as the agro-industrial sector and its contribution is between 14% and 16% of GDP (2019-2022). Agro-industry, in addition to its direct participation, generates positive effects on other sectors, with backward linkages (through increased demand for transport services, storage, input production, telecommunications, etc.) and forward linkages (much of the national agro-industrial production serves as input for other industries).

• In the 2022-2023 season, the total cultivated area increased by 14% year-on-year. However, the severe drought of 2023 affected summer crops, particularly soybeans, whose yields ended at historic lows as did the quantity exported.

• The agro-industrial sector employed approximately 217,000 people (2023), representing 13% of the country's employed population. Agricultural activities were responsible for 83,500 jobs including associated industry.
• The incentives associated with the Investment Law (No. 16.906) continue to have a positive impact on the number of projects and total amounts. In fact, projects linked to the agro-industrial sector increased from an average of 56 between 2016 and 2019, to 102 projects for the period between 2020 and 2023.
• Agro-industrial exports accounted for 80% of total exports of goods in 2023 by reaching US$ 9,086 million and registering a 17% decrease in the year-on-year comparison. Within these, agricultural goods totalled US$ 983 million, which implied a decrease of 61%, mainly explained by the fall in soybean exports and to a lesser extent in barley and maize.