Pig market in Uruguay

Pork production in Uruguay is mainly oriented to the domestic market, in the last ten years meat consumption per capita has doubled in absolute and relative terms.

Most of the production is managed by integrated companies, which range from pork production to meat market, producing both fresh meats and processed.

The departments that have the highest production are Montevideo, Canelones, San José, Soriano, Rocha and part of Florida and Lavalleja; This is where the largest number of establishments are located.

In the pork industrialization stage, there are two subsectors: butcher shops (which produce national and imported pork meat) and slaughterhouses-butcher shops that slaughter national pigs and produce fresh and processed products.

In the commercialization of pork meat in Uruguay there are two types of companies: the Vertically Integrated ones that own their own farms and commercialize both fresh meat and cured products, and the industries without their own farms that are basically butcher shops that demand imported meat to satisfy their production.

Increased pork meat consumption in Uruguay

In Uruguay there has been a very important growth in the consumption of pork meat in the last ten years, going from 9.7 kg/inhabitant/year in 2010 to 18 kg/inhabitant/year in 2019. This implied a growth in the participation of proteins of animal origin (bovine, ovine, avian and porcine), from 10.3% to 20.7%. The main supplier of meat to Uruguay is Brazil.

Despite the growth in domestic demand for pork meat, domestic slaughter failed to benefit, but has steadily decreased since 2013.

Uruguayan pork meat exports

The foreign trade of the sector presents a deficit due to the fact that Uruguay imports a high volume of meat from Brazil; being, on the other hand, very scarce exports, regarding both pork meat and processed products.

Globally, pork meat production has increased strongly and this is mainly due to increased production in China and South Korea. China is the main producer since it represents 50% of the total volume, followed by the European Union (21%) and the United States (10%). Regarding consumption, the main consumers are China, the European Union, Brazil and the United States, in recent years Mexico and Chile have been added.

For Luis Pedro Elhordoy, President of the Society of Pig Breeders of Uruguay, the pig production market has great investment possibilities, which would make it possible to reactivate pig farming. For this producer, due to the huge import of pork, especially from Brazil, production was seriously affected, leading it to almost disappear.

According to Elhordoy, this was due to the fact that there were no policies for growth, support, or promotion of pork meat, nor research tasks.

Uruguayan pork meat has an important condition, which is that growth hormones or antibiotics are not used, making it a very healthy meat; on the contrary, imported meats are frozen in addition to having 30% infiltrated water.

With the arrival of foreign capital and the importation of genetics, there will surely be a greater development of pig production in Uruguay.

In conclusion, it can be said that pork meat, in Uruguay, is taking more prominence in consumption, a trend that will not be reversed in the short term.

For Ing. Agr. Eduardo Errea imports are an important factor of competition and have increased considerably. On the contrary, production also grew, which suggests that its competitiveness has improved. As long as the country continues with its agricultural development and consolidates itself as a net exporter of grains, the main input for production costs, this situation can be affirmed and contribute to growth.

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