2002-2012: A decade of more diverse Uruguayan exports
Uruguayan exports recorded improved market diversification between 2001 and 2012, notwithstanding greater concentration at the product level.
Uruguayan exports have diversified in the market between the period from 2001 to 2012, according to the Hirschmann- Herfindahl Index (HHI), which measures the share of each product or country in total trade amounts.
Likewise, the HHI per product revealed a slight concentration trend during the same period. While in 2001 80% of Uruguayan exports went to 13 destinations, throughout the same period in 2012 the same percentage went to 18 markets. In other words, Uruguayan exports revealed a greater market diversification in the past twelve years.
Additionally, while in 2001 80% of Uruguayan exports consisted of 44 products, the same percentage in 2012 was of 31 products. This illustrates a higher concentration of exported products in the past twelve years.
Summing up, exports to Argentina and Brazil show a higher diversification per product: a greater variety of products is sold to the region, contrary to exports towards faraway markets, where a lower number of products are sold.
The Fray Bentos Free Trade Zone, in particular, mainly received exports of raw timber, a product used to produce cellulose pulp which is re-exported to China and the Netherlands, determining a high concentration.
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