title: “Uruguay’s Leather Exports Fall 19% in H1 2026 as Free-Zone Shipments Weaken” seo_description: “Uruguay’s leather exports fell 19% in H1 2026 to US$35 million, though leather goods rose 1% to $6.59 million as June free-zone shipments weakened.” seo_tags: [“Uruguay leather”, “leather exports”, “hide exports”, “Mercosur EU”, “leather goods”] seo_slug: “uruguay-leather-exports-fall-19-h1-2026”

Uruguay’s Leather Exports Fall 19% in H1 2026 as Free-Zone Shipments Weaken

Uruguay’s leather sector presented a mixed picture in the first half of 2026. Total leather exports fell 19% year-on-year to US$35 million, yet leather goods told a more resilient story, with exports rising 1% to US$6.59 million — a small gain that masked underlying softness in June.

According to the latest monthly foreign trade report from Uruguay XXI, export requests totalled US$1.31 million in June, down 4% versus the same month in 2025. The agency attributed the monthly dip mainly to reduced shipments from the country’s free trade zones, a reminder that Uruguay’s leather trade is unusually sensitive to activity inside those zones.

The context matters. Beef remained Uruguay’s dominant export in June at US$251 million, up 11% as higher international prices offset lower volumes from reduced cattle availability. Live cattle exports hit US$88 million, their strongest month of the year, and dairy reached US$72 million. Leather, by comparison, is a smaller and more volatile line — but one the country has long tried to grow.

On destinations, China was Uruguay’s largest export market in June at US$294 million, even though shipments there fell 42% year-on-year. Brazil ranked second at US$179 million, followed by the European Union at US$175 million, where exports rose 20%. The US and Turkey completed the top five.

The report also spotlighted Uruguay’s economic relationship with Spain, described as a strategic commercial and investment partner. Spain was Uruguay’s fourth-largest EU export market in 2025 and its largest foreign investor. Notably, the Uruguay XXI report highlighted the first use of tariff preferences under the Mercosur–European Union agreement for Uruguayan products entering the Spanish market — a development with real potential for leather goods exporters if the broader EU–Mercosur trade deal is finally implemented.

For an industry built on a strong cattle base, Uruguay’s challenge is familiar: capture more value at home rather than exporting hides and importing finished goods. The flat leather-goods performance shows stability but not yet the breakout growth the sector needs. The Mercosur–EU preference mechanism is a rare piece of good news — if Uruguayan manufacturers can organise to use it.

Source: International Leather Maker (internationalleathermaker.com)