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Uruguay Trade
Uruguay expanded its involvement in international trade
considerably during the latter part of the 1980s. Exports
doubled
(in nominal dollar terms) from US$854 million in 1985 to
US$1.6
billion in 1989. Imports increased at a slower rate, from
US$675
million in 1985 to US$1.1 billion in 1989. The merchandise
balance of trade reached a positive US$463 million in
1989,
helping to offset the demands of debt service.
The largest export markets were Brazil (US$443 million
in
1989), the European Community (US$363 million), the United
States
(US$177 million), and Argentina (US$78 million). Brazil
(US$369
million), Argentina (US$177 million), and the United
States
(US$109 million) were the leading sources of imports in
1988.
Uruguay's largest exports continued to be its so-called
traditional products: wool (US$288 million in 1989), meat
(US$225
million), and hides (US$129 million). While much attention
continued to be focused on these three largest exports, a
variety
of nontraditional exports took on growing importance
during the
late 1980s. Goods such as processed foods, grains, fishery
products, chemicals, and finished leather apparel together
accounted for 60 percent of Uruguay's exports by the end
of the
decade.
Uruguay's largest import was crude oil. Imports of oil
declined during much of the 1980s as Uruguay increased its
reliance on hydroelectric power. Reduced oil prices in the
late
1980s, combined with the reduction in the quantity of
imports,
helped improve the nation's overall trade balance. The
value of
oil imports declined from US$433 million in 1982 (40
percent of
imports) to about US$120 million in 1988 (about 10 percent
of
imports). In 1989 the trend toward lower oil imports was
reversed
when the severe drought compromised Uruguay's capacity to
generate hydroelectric power; oil imports increased to
US$139
million. As a nation with no domestic sources of
petroleum,
Uruguay was particularly hard-hit by the oil price rise
that
accompanied the Persian Gulf crisis in late 1990. Domestic
fuel
prices were raised by over 50 percent during September and
October 1990.
Several categories of industrial imports increased as
Uruguay's manufacturing sector recovered from the
recession. The
largest increases were among semi-industrialized products,
such
as chemicals, rubber, and plastics, which increased from
US$300
million in 1982 to US$500 million in 1987. Imports of
capital
goods (machinery and transportation equipment) dipped in
the mid1980s but recovered to US$150 million in 1987, indicating
that
manufacturing activity could increase. In 1989, however,
imports
of capital goods fell by 14 percent to US$137 million.
Data as of December 1990
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