VUCE Reports Record Savings of $43 Million for Public Sector and $114 Million for Private Sector in 2024

The Single Window for Foreign Trade (VUCE) closed in 2024 with significant results regarding operational efficiency, procedure digitization, and sustainability. Since its creation, the platform has sought to simplify the processes of import, export, and transit of goods. It continues to evolve and is consolidating its position as a fundamental pillar for Uruguayan foreign trade.

One of the most notable milestones of the year was the increase in the number of processes integrated into the platform, which reached 239, with 305 procedures digitized. This allowed for optimizing more than 653,000 foreign trade operations, reducing costs and time for the actors involved.

Savings, efficiency, and environmental impact

The impact of VUCE is reflected in the digitization of procedures and economic savings. From its creation until 2024, it achieved cumulative savings of more than US$114 million for the private sector and more than US$43 million for the public sector. Each digitized procedure in 2024 allowed an average saving of US$24.6 for companies, customs agents, and individuals and US$9.4 for state entities.

In addition to the economic and efficiency benefits, VUCE generated a positive environmental impact by reducing the use of paper and other resources. During its lifetime, it avoided using more than 91 million sheets of paper, preserving more than 10,000 trees and saving more than 27 million liters of water and five million kilowatt hours of electricity. As a result, it reduced more than 1.5 million kilograms of CO2 in the atmosphere.

The window also made progress in interoperability with other countries, strengthening the digitization of Digital Certificates of Origin (COD). In 2024, it implemented the exchange with Colombia and reinforced the mechanisms with Chile, Mexico, and other countries in the region, streamlining international trade and ensuring the validity of digital certificates in key markets.

Likewise, it worked on digitizing animal health certificates with countries of the Pacific Alliance, including Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Israel, and Paraguay. By 2025, it plans to incorporate new nations such as Brazil, Peru, and the United States.

In line with its growth strategy, VUCE trained hundreds of users from the public and private sectors, strengthening knowledge about the platform and how it works. In this drive towards digitizing procedures to facilitate foreign trade, VUCE promoted the development of the One-Stop Investment Shop (VUI), created in 2023, to streamline procedures for setting up investments in Uruguay. In 2024, the VUI included 82 procedures on its information portal and received 4,000 visits to its website.

With these achievements, VUCE reaffirms its commitment to modernizing foreign trade in Uruguay, consolidating itself as a key tool for economic development.