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Uruguay explores Mexican markets to boost agricultural exports
Fratti highlighted the Mexican side’s commitment to resolving all issues that can be addressed within the scope of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries.
Uruguay’s Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) is working to significantly strengthen trade ties with Mexico, through access to new markets for high-value agricultural products such as citrus and cereals, and seeks to relax meat import protocols.
Minister Alfredo Fratti leads a delegation to Mexico for a series of meetings aimed at advancing the trade agenda. His team includes Uruguay’s ambassador to Mexico, Santiago Wins; technical advisor Carlos Corujo; and the president of the National Meat Institute (INAC), Gastón Scayola.
The first official meeting with the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico, Julio Berdegué, was described as “very positive” by Minister Fratti, who explained that the delegation presented a specific agenda requested by several Uruguayan commercial associations, focused on key areas such as the flexibility of sanitary protocols, in particular the entry of bone-in sheep meat through the sheep compartment system, and the management to obtain sanitary approval for the export of tangerines, a product currently prohibited on the Mexican market. Uruguay also promotes the opening of the rice market.
Fratti highlighted his “pleasant surprise” when Secretary Berdegué committed to “promoting and trying to resolve everything that can be advanced within the scope of the Free Trade Agreement” between the two countries.
Tangerines are part of a broader objective: to increase exports of the Uruguayan fruit. Currently, the citrus sector exports around 80 thousand tons annually, and the MGAP’s objective is to increase this number to 130 thousand tons by 2028, as explained.
With regard to bone-in sheep meat, the objective is to obtain approval of the so-called “sheep compartment”, a health instrument recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
“The sheep enclosure ensures that animals are free from foot-and-mouth disease without the need for vaccination, which opens up the possibility of new high-value markets,” Fratti said.
Uruguay has already presented the technical information requested by the Mexican authorities to evaluate mandarin exports, while negotiations continue.