Beef exports totalled $454 million in the first months of the year, with the main buyers including China, member countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the European Union, Israel and MERCOSUR countries.

The total volume of beef was 115,731 tons exported, whereas in 2014 the number stood at 102,154 tons.

The change in revenue and the change in volume of beef exports therefore both amount to increases of 13 per cent, compared with the same period in 2014.

For Uruguayan sheep meat, exports totalled $21 million and about 4,642 tons. The main buyers were similar to the main buyers of beef.

The income from beef represent 82 per cent of the total export revenue, while the share of sheep meat is only four per cent, according to data published by the Directorate of Information and Economic Analysis of the National Meat Institute (INAC).

In addition to these two main exports, there were exports of meat offal worth $30 million, horsemeat for $8 million and $2.3 million in poultry meat. Another $34 million was raised from exports of industrialised product, edible residual byproduct, primary byproducts of industrial and meat product feed.

As for the volume of animals slaughtered, 674,656 cattle were slaughtered in approved slaughterhouses across Uruguay by 18 April, which is an increase of 9 per cent compared to the previous year.

240,693 sheep and 49,129 pigs were also slaughtered.