Food imports in Uruguay
Uruguay: Food imports was 14.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Food imports in Uruguay, 1970–2024
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
Uruguay recorded 14.1% for food imports in 2024.
That represents a change of down 10.5% on the previous year and up 26.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Uruguay peaked at 16.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.0%, in 1982.
Uruguay ranks 105th of 196 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Food imports in Uruguay, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12.7% | — |
| 1971 | 12.4% | -2.4% |
| 1972 | 13.5% | +9.4% |
| 1974 | 9.3% | -31.6% |
| 1975 | 8.1% | -12.7% |
| 1976 | 6.4% | -20.3% |
| 1977 | 6.2% | -3.0% |
| 1978 | 6.6% | +6.2% |
| 1979 | 10.0% | +50.6% |
| 1980 | 7.9% | -21.3% |
| 1981 | 6.7% | -14.2% |
| 1982 | 6.0% | -10.8% |
| 1983 | 8.4% | +39.4% |
| 1984 | 9.2% | +9.1% |
| 1985 | 7.0% | -23.5% |
| 1986 | 9.0% | +29.0% |
| 1987 | 7.9% | -12.7% |
| 1993 | 8.2% | +3.7% |
| 1994 | 10.9% | +33.2% |
| 1995 | 10.4% | -4.4% |
| 1996 | 10.9% | +4.9% |
| 1997 | 10.5% | -4.2% |
| 1998 | 10.7% | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 10.9% | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 11.5% | +5.0% |
| 2001 | 11.4% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 14.5% | +26.5% |
| 2003 | 12.6% | -12.8% |
| 2004 | 8.6% | -31.8% |
| 2005 | 8.1% | -6.0% |
| 2006 | 8.1% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 8.7% | +7.2% |
| 2008 | 7.9% | -8.4% |
| 2009 | 10.1% | +27.2% |
| 2010 | 9.5% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 10.9% | +14.3% |
| 2012 | 9.4% | -13.9% |
| 2013 | 11.3% | +20.4% |
| 2014 | 11.1% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 12.8% | +16.0% |
| 2016 | 13.3% | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 13.3% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 14.6% | +9.5% |
| 2019 | 14.5% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 16.0% | +10.3% |
| 2021 | 14.1% | -11.6% |
| 2022 | 13.2% | -6.7% |
| 2023 | 15.7% | +19.0% |
| 2024 | 14.1% | -10.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 9.5% | 6.2% | 13.5% | 9 |
| 1980s | 7.8% | 6.0% | 9.2% | 8 |
| 1990s | 10.4% | 8.2% | 10.9% | 7 |
| 2000s | 10.2% | 7.9% | 14.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.1% | 9.4% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.6% | 13.2% | 16.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
More private sector data for Uruguay
- Merchandise trade 28.3% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 69.6% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 12.95 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 65.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 18.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 11.23 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 3,318 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1316 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 9.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 3,826 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Uruguay?
- Food imports in Uruguay was 14.1% in 2024, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 16.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.0% in 1982.
- How does Uruguay rank for food imports?
- Uruguay ranks 105th out of 196 countries with data for 2024.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uruguay data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food imports (% of merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.