Uruguay: The country's meat sector grew 23.8 percent this year
This growth was not driven by an increase in export volume, but rather by a strong recovery in the average price per ton. The total export volume of all products in the sector remained at 621,596 tons shipping weight in 2025, slightly lower than the 632,755 tons in 2024. However, the average price climbed to US$4,696 per ton shipping weight this year, a 23.8% increase compared to the US$3,728 obtained in 2024.
Beef represents 84% of the revenue in millions of dollars accumulated up to November 2025, followed by offal and by-products, which constitute 5% of the total.
Beef
The cumulative value of beef exports reached $2,442,780 thousand in 2025. To put this into perspective, in 2024 the value was $1,917,998 thousand, while in 2023 it stood at $1,873,730 thousand.
The most relevant data point for beef is the evolution of prices. The Average Export Income (IMEx PC), calculated in Carcass Weight, reached US$5,017/Ton PC in 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of 19.6% compared to US$4,195 in 2024, and exceeding the US$4,232/Ton PC of 2023. When measuring the price per Ton Shipping Weight (SWW), the upward trend is even more pronounced: the average price of beef reached US$6,872/Ton SWW in 2025, representing a 27.4% increase compared to US$5,726 in 2024. This increase in price per ton is identical to the percentage change in the total value exported, highlighting that the product's increased value was the dominant factor.
Although volume did not grow at the same rate as value, it did show expansion. Beef exports in carcass weight (CW) totaled 486,893 tons in 2025, representing a 6.5% increase compared to the 457,264 tons exported in 2024. This figure for last year, in turn, had already exceeded the 442,737 CW tons exported in 2023 by 3.3%.
The dynamism of the beef market was observed in the main destinations in terms of volume (Tons CW). The USMCA bloc (United States, Mexico, and Canada) consolidated its position as a key destination, absorbing 176,141 Tons CW in 2025, an increase of 14.0% compared to 2024. China maintained its volume, receiving 175,799 Tons CW, with a marginal variation of 0.5%. However, the most significant growth in volume came from the European Union (EU-27), which increased its purchases to 66,558 Tons CW, marking a growth of 43.3% compared to 2024.
Lamb
Sheep meat presented a more challenging trajectory in terms of volume, but showed the largest percentage increase in average price, reflecting high-value demand.
The volume of sheep meat exports continued to decline for the third consecutive year. The cumulative carcass weight tonnes (CWT) as of November 29, 2025, reached only 10,948. This represents a 23.0% decrease compared to the 14,222 CWT of 2024, and an even more severe drop compared to the 21,069 CWT of 2023.
Total revenue from sheep meat in 2025 was $60,704 thousand, representing a 7.8% increase compared to the $56,293 thousand of 2024. This recovery is critical, given that 2024 had suffered a sharp drop in value compared to the $81,318 thousand of 2023.
The Average Export Income (IMEx PC) for sheep meat surged to US$5,545/ton PC in 2025, representing a 40.1% increase compared to the US$3,958/ton PC of 2024. This price also surpassed the US$3,860/ton PC recorded in 2023. Even when measuring the price by Shipping Weight (SW), the price per ton of sheep meat reached US$6,691/ton SW in 2025, showing a positive variation of 7.8% compared to 2024. Sheep markets exhibited significant volatility: China, the main destination by volume in 2023, reduced its purchases in tons PC to 1,843 in 2025, a drastic decrease of 52.2% compared to 2024. The Mercosur bloc also contracted its purchases by 17.2% in tons. PC. However, the EU-27 offset this drop in volume with an increase in its purchases to 803 Ton PC, representing a growth of 183.5% in 2025.
The total value of meat exports was heavily concentrated in three main markets: USMCA (32%), China (30%) and the EU-27 (21%).
USMCA: This bloc led in value, accumulating $942,587 thousand in 2025, with a 33.2% increase in export value compared to 2024. The United States, the largest component, experienced a 31.1% increase in value, reaching $859,665 thousand. Mexico was the country with the most significant percentage growth in value, reaching $32,428 thousand, representing a 153.1% increase compared to 2024, which had already grown by 110.6% over 2023. Canada also contributed to the bloc with $50,494 thousand, increasing its purchase value by 28.1%.
EU-27: This market showed the highest percentage growth among the main destinations. Exports to the European Union reached $599,647 thousand, an increase of 65.3% compared to $362,778 thousand in 2024.
China: Despite the moderation in beef volume, the total value exported to China recovered, reaching $862,842 thousand in 2025, representing a 14.2% increase over 2024.
Other markets also showed significant growth. Exports to the United Kingdom increased in value by a remarkable 60.2%, reaching $51,079,000. Even Israel, which experienced a contraction in beef volume (-30.8% in whole tons), recorded a total value of $94,559,000 in 2025, a decrease of 6.9% compared to 2024.
In contrast, the Mercosur bloc showed a generalized contraction in value, falling to US$100,706 thousand, a drop of 17.2%. Within the region, sales to Brazil fell 7.5% and sales to Chile plummeted 57.5% in dollar terms.
The monthly pickup in consumer price rises from October was seen as only marginal thanks to the i...
In terms of revenue, exports from the sector totaled US$5,247 million in November, a 32.8% increa...
In the month, revenue from shipments reached US$810.7 million, a 9.3% decrease compared to the el...
