Uruguay, September 2026: Electric Cars Before the Tax, Beef Worth More per Kilo, and Soybeans That Left Early

Bottom line: Uruguay's imports rose 21.2% from August to US$1.37 billion in September 2026, led by the largest month of car imports since January 2016 (mostly electric cars from China) and a U.S. crude cargo. Exports barely moved, up 1.6% from a year earlier to US$1.01 billion, as beef and logs made up for soybean shipments that fell by half, so the deficit widened to US$364 million.

Desk: Claudio, Uruguay. Dataset: Uruguay customs (DNA) declarations (DUA), imports (customs value, about CIF) and exports (FOB). Period: September 2026, the latest complete month. Vintage: fer-aguirre/uruguay_dua_comex release v2026.10.09, rebuilt from DNA files with amendments applied (computed files labelled data updated 12 October 2026); earlier months were revised slightly, at most about 1.2% (August 2026 exports). Exclusions: export lines classified as contradicted in the CargoFax anomaly register are left out of every figure: in September, four stand-in electricity export declarations and two plywood export declarations (US$109.5 million of exports) and one stand-in electricity import declaration (US$15.0 million of imports); in August, four stand-in electricity export declarations (US$70.0 million). Coverage: DUA declarations only. Exports leaving free zones (most pulp, stored soybeans) are not in this data; shipments into free zones (logs, grain) count as exports. Transit is separate.

Key findings

• Imports were US$1.37 billion in September 2026, up 21.2% from August (US$1.13 billion) and 6.4% from September 2025 (US$1.29 billion). Exports were US$1.01 billion, up 1.0% from August (US$999.0 million) and 1.6% from September 2025 (US$992.5 million). The monthly deficit widened to US$364 million from US$134 million in August and US$298 million in September 2025.
• Car imports reached US$118 million, the highest month since January 2016 and 36.7% above September 2025; 71.7% was battery-electric, 95.6% of it from China.
• Crude imports were US$164 million, up from US$54.7 million in September 2025; the United States supplied US$92.3 million.
• Beef exports rose 7.0% to US$233 million from a year earlier on 9.5% fewer tonnes; the United States edged past China as the largest buyer by value.
• Soybean exports fell 48.2% to US$75.3 million, while logs reached US$130 million, the highest month since January 2016.

The numbers

Through the first nine months of 2026, the deficit widened to US$1.87 billion from US$884 million in the same period of 2025.

Exports held close to US$1.0 billion in both months (US$999.0 million in August and US$1.01 billion in September), while imports jumped to US$1.37 billion from US$1.13 billion.

Why did car imports reach a new high in September?

Passenger cars (HS 8703) are Uruguay's largest import product after crude oil; in 2025 they ran between US$48 million and US$87 million a month. September 2026 broke that range at US$118 million, up 29.5% from August and the highest month since January 2016, the third consecutive monthly rise:

• June 2026: US$65.5 million
• July 2026: US$86.4 million
• August 2026: US$91.5 million
• September 2026: US$118 million

The growth is electric. Battery-electric cars (NCM 870380) were US$84.9 million on 4,538 units, against US$43.4 million and 2,245 units in September 2025. Petrol and diesel cars fell to US$19.7 million from US$32.1 million. Through September, electric car imports reached US$420 million on 24,585 units, roughly double the US$207 million and 10,585 units of January to September 2025. China supplied 79% of all car imports (US$93.8 million, from US$45.2 million), and total imports from China reached US$367 million, the highest month since January 2016.

Policy likely plays a part: from 1 January 2027, electric cars with an import value above US$19,000 will pay the IMESI excise tax, El Observador reported when the decision was made on 30 June 2026. Demand is also strong at the dealership: 3,070 battery-electric vehicles were sold in September, 48% of new light vehicle sales and 56% more than in September 2025, according to ACAU data reported by El Cronista. Ámbito described a strong rise in car imports from China in the first half of the year.

The nuance: customs recorded 4,538 electric units in September against 3,070 electric sales. The measures differ (declared physical units vs light vehicle sales), but a gap that size is consistent with dealers building stock ahead of January.

What the data shows: Uruguay imported more cars in September 2026 than in any month since 2016, almost all of the growth electric and Chinese. Arrivals running ahead of sales suggest stock building before the 2027 tax, though the data does not prove it.

Why is Uruguay earning more from beef while shipping less?

Beef is Uruguay's largest export in this data. In September, fresh and frozen beef (HS 0201 and 0202) brought in US$233 million on 28,100 tonnes, against US$218 million on 31,000 tonnes in September 2025. Frozen beef rose 23.7% from August to US$186 million.

From January to September, beef value rose 2.9% to US$2.01 billion while tonnage fell 13.2% to 252,700 tonnes. This is a price story on top of a supply story. In late July, steer prices in Uruguay reached their highest level on record, El Observador reported, with little finished cattle on offer. The same paper noted in August that the USDA expects global beef exports to fall in 2026 for the first time in ten years.

The United States paid US$74.0 million for 8,800 tonnes in September (about US$8.40 a kilo), while China paid US$73.1 million for 11,600 tonnes (about US$6.30). China's safeguard, a 55% extra tariff above each supplier's quota, has applied since 1 January 2026, and Uruguay's 2026 quota is 324,000 tonnes, according to Montevideo Portal. Declared shipments to China through September were 103,700 tonnes, down 11.4%, well below the quota (quota accounting may use a different measure than declared net weight).

The nuance: live cattle exports fell for a third month, to US$31.8 million, but through September were still up 23.9% at US$368 million.

What the data shows: Uruguay is selling fewer tonnes of beef at higher prices, and the U.S. now pays as much as China for a smaller volume. Cattle supply, not market access, appears to be the limit.

Where did the soybeans go, and what filled the gap?

The 2025/26 soybean harvest was poor. Production fell about 50% from the previous season after a severe drought, La República reported, and yields fell to 1.721 tonnes per hectare from 3.121, according to UkrAgroConsult.

In this data, September soybean exports were US$75.3 million on 161,000 tonnes, against US$145 million and 357,400 tonnes a year earlier. Through September, tonnage fell 40.9% and tonnes to China 62.5%. China's share of export value fell to 16.8% from 20.7% in September 2025.

The nuance is the free zones. Earlier in the year a large part of the crop went into free-zone grain terminals, where the DUA data counts it as an export (US$120 million of soybeans in May alone). In September, only US$5.2 million of soybeans went to free zones. Grain shipped overseas from those terminals is not in this data, which is why Uruguay XXI, counting free-zone exports, reported soybeans as September's leading export at US$276 million and total exports of US$1.40 billion, up 10%, as El Cronista reported.

Two flows offset most of the gap in the DUA data, and exports still rose only 1.6% from September 2025:

• Logs into free zones. Log exports (HS 4403) were US$130 million and 1.85 million tonnes, the highest month since January 2016 and the fourth consecutive monthly rise (US$84.0 million in May). About US$124 million (95%) went to free-zone codes 981, 986, and 987: eucalyptus pulpwood delivered to pulp mills. Prensa Latina reported a 15% rise in log shipments to free zones in the first half of 2026.
• Beef and Brazil. Frozen beef (HS 0202) was US$186 million, up 13.9% from September 2025 (see the beef section). Brazil was the top destination at US$188 million, up 18.1% from a year earlier, with the rise spread across trucks, milk powder, rice, buses and plastic packaging rather than one product.

What the data shows: The drought cut soybean shipments by more than half, and most of the remaining crop had already moved into free zones. Logs and beef held the DUA export total roughly level with a year earlier, but log deliveries to the pulp mills are volatile.

Trade with the U.S.

Uruguay's own customs data: exports to the United States were US$131 million in September 2026, up 32.9% from US$98.5 million and 13.0% of all exports, led by frozen beef (US$67.9 million, from US$50.0 million). Imports from the U.S. were US$151 million, up 98.7% from US$75.9 million, almost all of the rise in crude oil (US$92.3 million against US$4.0 million). Through September, exports to the U.S. were US$990 million (up 6.4%) and imports US$996 million (up 23.4%).

Official U.S. Census data (latest month August 2026): U.S. imports from Uruguay were US$131.5 million, up 19.3%, led by frozen beef (US$54.8 million) and wood pulp (US$21.6 million). U.S. exports to Uruguay were US$226.4 million, up 18.0%, including US$99.1 million of crude oil. January to August: US$1.11 billion (up 2.0%) and US$1.60 billion (up 12.4%). September Census data is not yet out.

Policy: since 24 July 2026 the United States applies an extra 12.5% tariff to most Uruguayan goods, MercoPress and El Observador reported. The Ministry of Economy said 77.5% of exports to the U.S., including beef, pulp, wood, and oranges, are outside it, according to El Cronista. September's rise was in beef, which is exempt.

The mirror: the U.S. crude Census recorded as shipped in August (US$99.1 million) most likely appears in Uruguay's data as arriving in September (US$92.3 million).

What the data shows: Uruguay's trade with the U.S. is close to balanced this year, and each month swings on single crude cargoes on one side and beef on the other.

Verification notes

• Crude oil. Crude imports (HS 2709) of US$164 million were 199.7% above September 2025; they arrive in a few large cargoes, so the comparison is mostly timing. Value per tonne rose about 32% while Brent averaged US$116.8 a barrel against US$68.0 (World Bank). Through September, crude imports were up 48.1% in value and 19.8% in tonnes.
• Electricity (researched; classified as contradicted and excluded). Four electricity (HS 2716) export declarations filed on 29 September, three of US$20.0 million each to Brazil and one of US$10.0 million to Argentina, repeat August's four declarations line for line (filed on 31 August). These are round stand-in values: together they declare about 1,000 GWh, close to Uruguay's whole monthly generation, while a strong export month in the UCU power-sector monitor (August 2025) was 245 GWh, all to Argentina, earning about US$14.2 million. July 2026's declarations were later amended to real values, so these look like provisional month-end estimates. After research they were classified as contradicted and excluded from every figure here (US$70.0 million in each month); a DNA amendment to real values would flow back into the data. The remaining electricity exports, to free zones (codes 981, 986 and 987), were US$9.8 million, against US$5.2 million a year earlier, and are kept. Searches: "exportación energía eléctrica Uruguay Brasil septiembre 2026 UTE" and "Monitor mensual del sector eléctrico UCU agosto 2026 exportaciones GWh". On the import side, one electricity declaration from Argentina (original filing, not amended) came in at exactly US$15.0 million for 150,000 units after near-zero July and August values: a round provisional value of the same kind. Earlier provisional electricity imports from Argentina were filed at zero and later amended, real imports (June 2026, from Brazil) carried non-round values, and the UCU monitor shows Uruguay's electricity imports are small (1.4 GWh in August 2025). After research it was also classified as contradicted and excluded (recheck after 10 November). Searches: "importación energía eléctrica Uruguay Argentina septiembre 2026" and "Monitor mensual del sector eléctrico UCU importaciones GWh 2026".
• Plywood (researched; classified as contradicted and excluded). Two declarations filed the same day (September 4, HS 4412.39) would have lifted HS 4412 exports to US$47.3 million from US$6.95 million in August. One is US$20.9 million to Ireland on 24 tonnes (49.2 cubic meters). The other is US$18.6 million to the United Kingdom on 24 tonnes (47.6 cubic meters). That works out to about US$390,000 to US$425,000 per cubic meter. The same plywood exporter's other 2026 shipments to both countries were declared at US$450 to US$480 per cubic meter, which would put each container near US$20,000. Both values are almost exactly 1,000 times that, which points to a decimal or unit error in the declaration. Both lines (US$39.5 million) are excluded from every figure here; without them, plywood exports were US$7.8 million, close to August, and exports to Ireland US$7.4 million, mostly essential oils. The error has reached official figures: Uruguay XXI's September report shows wood exports to the European Union up 230% to US$28 million, and total wood exports up 115% to US$77 million (Uruguay XXI, Informe mensual de comercio exterior, setiembre 2026). Without the two lines, EU wood exports would be about US$6.9 million (US$8.7 million in September 2025) and total wood about US$38 million. No press report, company announcement or amendment explains a shipment of that value. Irish and UK import statistics for September (mirror data) are not out yet; check them after 20 November. Searches: "exportaciones Uruguay Irlanda septiembre 2026 contrachapado", the exporter's name plus Irlanda, "Uruguay XXI informe mensual setiembre 2026", and the El Cronista report on the EU's 61% jump. Both declarations are still original filings (not amended).
• Small baselines. Resins (HS 3907) rose to US$28.5 million from US$1.5 million and potassic fertilizers (HS 3104) to US$11.1 million from US$1.7 million: single shipments, not trends.
• Free-zone codes. Code 987 (US$37.1 million in September, mostly logs) is not in the website's free-zone set (981, 986, 997) and shows as "Other or unspecified"; the free-zone log share above includes it.
• Revisions. August 2026 exports moved from US$1,082 million to US$1,069 million in the new release, and to US$999.0 million after the four electricity stand-in lines were excluded.

What to watch

• October to December car imports, and any official word on the IMESI start date.
• Beef demand from the U.S. and China quota use by December.
• Soybean planting for 2026/27.
• U.S. Census September data (early November); any DNA amendment of the electricity stand-in declarations (recheck after 10 November); Irish and UK September import data for the plywood lines (after 20 November).

Methodology and data notes

Figures come from CargoFax's processing of Uruguay's DUA customs declarations (Dirección Nacional de Aduanas), release v2026.10.09, reconciled to the computed files behind the public Uruguay monthly report. Imports are by country of origin; exports by declared destination. Weights are declared net weight. Beef is HS 0201 plus 0202. Electric cars are NCM 870380, and units are declared physical units. "Highest since January 2016" refers to the start of this dataset. Brent prices are World Bank Pink Sheet monthly averages. Lines classified as contradicted in the CargoFax anomaly register are excluded from all figures: four stand-in electricity export declarations in each of August and September 2026 (US$70.0 million a month) two plywood export declarations on 4 September 2026 (US$39.5 million), and one electricity import declaration from Argentina in September 2026 (US$15.0 million); unexplained items appear only in Verification notes. No importer or exporter is named.

Transit is a separate flow, never included above: US$9.68 billion from January to September 2026, up 5.6% and the highest January to September total since 2016; Paraguay was the largest foreign destination in September (US$179 million, from US$164 million).

Sources

Every link on this page passed the verification gate (live article, date in window, quote found, archived). Tier 1: Bloomberg, WSJ, Reuters, FT. Tier 2: other highly relevant sources (trade press, government, company releases, local press).

Tier 1

No Tier 1 source on this page.

Tier 2

• Tier 2 El Observador. Impuestos a los autos eléctricos: gobierno resolvió aplicar IMESI a vehículos con valor de importación superior a US$ 19 mil. 2026-06-30 archive
• Tier 2 El Cronista. Uruguay encabeza en América Latina la venta de autos eléctricos. 2026-10-17 archive
• Tier 2 ámbito.com. Cómo es el nuevo mapa del comercio con China, entre el boom de importaciones de autos y la caída de la soja. 2026-08-03 archive
• Tier 2 El Observador. Los precios de novillos y terneros cierran julio con nuevos máximos en la historia. 2026-07-31 archive
• Tier 2 El Observador. Lo que está detrás del precio récord de la carne. 2026-08-10 archive
• Tier 2 Montevideo Portal. China impondrá un arancel del 55% a la importación de carne de países como Uruguay. 2025-12-31 archive
• Tier 2 Diario La República. Las exportaciones de soja uruguaya cayeron 46% en el año por la sequía. 2026-09-06 archive
• Tier 2 UkrAgroConsult. Drought nearly halves Uruguay’s soybean crop. 2026-09-17 archive
• Tier 2 Uruguay XXI. Informe Mensual de Comercio Exterior, Setiembre 2026. 2026-10-01 archive
• Tier 2 El Cronista. Exportaciones uruguayas suben 10% en setiembre y la UE impulsa ventas con un salto del 61%. 2026-10-02 archive
• Tier 2 Noticias Prensa Latina. Buen semestre para exportaciones forestales de Uruguay. 2026-07-11 archive
• Tier 2 MercoPress. Uruguay faces a 12.5% US tariff as its foreign ministry weighs the implications. 2026-07-24 archive
• Tier 2 El Observador. Estados Unidos aplicará nuevos aranceles por “trabajo forzoso”: a Uruguay le corresponde una tasa del 12,5%. 2026-07-24 archive
• Tier 2 El Cronista. MEF afirma que nuevos aranceles de EEUU no alcanzan al 75% de exportaciones. 2026-07-25 archive
• Tier 2 www.ucu.edu.uy. Microsoft PowerPoint - Monitor Agosto 2025_FB. 2025-09-26 archive

Data sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, international trade data, August 2026 (CargoFax Census pipeline).