Paraguay’s exports to Russia surged 50.75%, while Uruguay’s exports rose 34.11% this August compared to the same month last year.
September’s trade data indicates more modest gains, with Uruguay’s exports to Russia up 12.09% and Paraguay’s increased 6.90% over September 2014. But a closer look at the data shows much bigger spikes in exports of the products subject to Russia’s one-year ban on imports from the US, EU, Canada, Australia and Norway.
The data confirms one expected Russian sanctions impact on trade: that Latin America would gain as Russia shopped for alternate sources for meat, seafood, fruits and vegetables. Argentina began ramping up exports to Russia in August. (See Argentina Beefs up Food Exports to Russia).
As the September trade data shows (below), Uruguay has stepped up exports of butter, beef and cheese – this last by more than 3,000%. The increases more than compensate for the sharp drops in milk and cream (a result of lower production caused by unfavorable weather, not geopolitics). Note the growth in beef and swine byproducts. These are not subject to the Russian sanctions, but their import from Europe has been suspended temporarily by Russia’s agricultural watchdog agency since October 21.
Paraguay’s meat and meat byproduct exports to Russia also show double- to triple-digit percentage growth. It is something of a surprise to see that boneless, frozen beef exports fell 2%. However, this August’s exports of this product were up 78% compared with August of 2013. And, as the chart at bottom shows, the Paraguay’s sales of beef to its top customer (typically Russia takes half of Paraguay’s beef exports) surged over the last quarter.
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