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NDTO News Article

Ag Equipment Companies Attend Uruguay’s ExpoActiva

NDTO and four regional equipment manufacturers will head to Uruguay March 13-16 to attend ExpoActiva Nacional, the largest agriculture equipment trade show in Uruguay with more than 25,000 attendees, annually.  This will be the fourth year that NDTO has had a presence at ExpoActiva.

RDO Equipment, Titan Machinery, Blu-Jet, and JUG Livestock Waterers will represent North Dakota equipment at the 2013 event.  Uruguay’s six percent average GDP growth per year for the past seven years, coupled with a successful summer crop season and subsequently good commodity prices make the region an especially attractive market for North Dakota exporters.   Additionally, Uruguay offers U.S. firms significant advantages as a regional distribution platform for the MERCOSUR trade bloc (composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay).

“ExpoActiva is a great opportunity for our North Dakota equipment manufacturers and dealers to explore the Uruguayan market further,” said Tom Wollin, director of agricultural equipment at NDTO and leader of the North Dakota delegation.  “Our companies have had the opportunity to follow up with a number of buyers who visited North Dakota during the Big Iron International Visitors Program last fall, and many of these buyers have committed to visiting Big Iron once again in 2013.”

Opportunities abound in Uruguay’s agribusiness industry; Uruguayan farmers are investing heavily in the renewal of their stock of agriculture machinery and equipment.  U.S. brands lead the market, yet much of the important equipment is manufactured in Brazil.  Agricultural machinery is importer duty free, and there is a strong demand for pre-owned and refurbished machinery.  Specifically, the US Commercial Service has identified opportunities in:

  • Combines and other Harvesting systems (used and refurbished)
  • Data collection, such as GPS, yield monitoring, soil sampling, crop and field scouting, remote sensing technologies used to monitor soil properties and crop conditions.
  • Laser-controlled earth leveling machinery.
  • Computerized management systems (such as for livestock)
  • Grain storage – grain exports are booming!  Along with Storage buildings, silos, etc – prefabricated light, inexpensive farm storage
  • Augers and conveyors (chutes) to discharge harvested grain into storage devices; small grain dryers; grain storage.
  • Advanced turbine sprayers (and associated pumps).
  • Parts and accessories for tractors and harvesters.
  • Cultivators (harrows, tillage, plows, seeders, fertilizers, spreaders), balers, air-seeders.
  • Irrigation equipment.
  • Cattle breeding services, genetics, technologies.
  • Dairy processing equipment
  • Fertilizer raw materials

Top crops grown in Uruguay include:

  • corn (white and yellow)
  • wheat (200,000+ hectares)
  • soybeans (world’s 7th largest producer @ 400,000 hectares)
  • rice (150,000 hectares)
  • sorghum
  • alfalfa, barley (130,000 hectares)
  • potatoes
  • sugarcane
  • limited amount of sunflowers (+/-100,000 hectares).
  • Uruguay is also the world’s fifth largest producer of meat, and sixth in dairy products.

Visitors to the show range from large scale farmers to business people to students and families.  The show is supported at the highest levels of the government, with the show being opened the past four years by the Uruguay Vice President, Mr. Rodolfo Nin Novoa, and attendance by the Agriculture Minister, mayors, and governors.  International visitors are largely from the Argentine provinces of Sante Fe, Cordoba, and Entre Rios.

ExpoActiva is currently celebrating its 18th year bringing equipment and technical know-how together to “meet and talk business”.  The show is organized by the Centenary of the Rural Association of Soriano.  Soriano, located approximately three hours outside the city of Montevideo, is known for being the largest agricultural production state in Uruguay.