Uruguay

Air care continued to be a popular product in Uruguay in 2023, though as with other home care products, it was negatively impact by cross-border shopping in Argentina and registered a fall in volume sales. Although inflation has soared in Argentina,…

Macroeconomic indicators played a huge role in the evolution of the alcoholic drinks market in Uruguay in 2022. As in most countries, inflation was a major issue during the period. Inflation ended at around 9% in 2022, the third highest recorded in…

Though current value sales are expected to rise, constant value sales are expected to fall, as continuing rising operating costs cut into profitability. In 2023, with concerns about COVID-19 abating, demand for analgesics reduces to more normal…

The main constraints facing local distributors of away-from-home tissue and hygiene in Uruguay was the small-scale smuggling issue in Argentina. In 2023, smuggling became a prominent threat to companies located in border cities, such as Salto and…

For the third year in a row, volume sales of baby and child-specific products decreased in Uruguay during 2023, while current value growth remained below the rate of inflation. This negative sales trend can be attributed mainly to the prevalence of…

Milk formula registered positive retail volume growth for the third consecutive year in 2023. Price increases are creating some changes to demand, with budget-conscious parents shifting to cheaper alternatives, such as cow´s milk. Since the COVID-19…

Packaged leavened bread registered a further contraction in retail volume sales in 2023, as strong price increases were brought about by rising costs. Demand has also been curbed by the many Uruguayans crossing the border into Argentina in order to…

2023 saw bath and shower register significant declines in volume sales and the main factor underpinning this trend is the huge gap that exists in prices between retail outlets in Uruguay and neighbouring Argentina, where the prices charged for a wide…

2023 saw Uruguay’s beauty and personal care industry face declining volume sales as cross-border shopping and the informal trade in parallel imports and contraband smuggled in from Argentina continues to erode demand for products distributed through…

Almost all beers performed well in 2022, both in the off-trade and on-trade channels, and amongst beers, imported brands performed better than the average. Stella Artois and Nova Schin were amongst the most successful of the imported brands in 2022.

With the pandemic over, there was less frenzied cleaning, and as such bleach registered a fall in volume sales. That being said, there was a slight increase in constant value sales, due to price rises. Bleach is still a popular cleaning product in…

The drought experienced over the past two years in Uruguay severely impacted the quality of running water, rendering it unsuitable for human consumption due to its high sodium content of 400mg. This affected cities like Montevideo, Canelones, and San…

In 2023, sales of breakfast cereals declined in retail volume and current value terms. The increase in prices, as well as the required health labels, warning about excess levels of sugar, has reduced demand for breakfast cereals. Children´s breakfast…

This report assesses the business environment in Uruguay, focusing on the regulatory environment, stability of the financial system, FDI intake, labour market flexibility and skillset, trade openness, mobility infrastructure, ICT adoption and…

Butter and spreads registered a modest increase in retail volume terms in 2022 and a similar performance is expected in 2023. As a mature category, there is little room for growth in butter and spreads. However, the category experienced high demand…

The past two years of drought in Uruguay have adversely affected the quality of running water, rendering it unsuitable for human consumption due to its 400mg sodium content. This issue was particularly prevalent in Montevideo, Canelones, and San…

Per capita cheese consumption in Uruguay is among the highest in Latin America and the world, due to its long tradition of cheese production. After a soft contraction in 2022, retail volume sales is expected to achieve positive growth in 2023.…

In 2022, chocolate confectionery sales surpassed their pre-pandemic levels again in volume and real value terms and were expected to continue seeing positive growth in 2023. While impulse channels such as kiosks, which are included under small local…

Cider has been losing share amongst Uruguay alcoholic drinks options for the last 15 years. Although it witnessed an unexpected strong bounce in 2020 (related to voluntary home seclusion during the pandemic) and further marginal growth in 2021, the…

Several factors contributed to a significant drop in volume sales of cigarettes in 2022. Smoking prevalence is gradually declining as authorities’ efforts to stem smoking are bearing fruit. In addition, in 2022, inflation was high, caused by global…