Uruguay
Rural producers and industry questioned two articles in the competitiveness bill in the Chamber of Deputies
Un Solo Uruguay objected to the traceability system for fruits and vegetables because of the costs it could generate. In the same committee, the Chamber of Industries asked that the article on subsequent importers be withdrawn or separated.
The Chamber of Deputies’ Finance Committee is analyzing the competitiveness and cost-of-living reduction bill, already unanimously approved by the Senate, and in that setting received objections from Un Solo Uruguay and the Chamber of Industries of Uruguay to two articles in the initiative, according to la diaria.
One of the proposals was aimed at article 39, which provides for the creation of a traceability system for fresh fruits and vegetables within the National Fruit and Vegetable Registry. The text also stipulates that the Executive Branch regulate the requirements, timing, form and conditions of implementation, and that the system operate under the General Directorate of Horticulture of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries.
Before the committee, Un Solo Uruguay leader Alejandro Gorostidi said the objection is not about the technical difficulty of applying traceability, but about the bureaucracy and associated costs. According to the stenographic record cited by la diaria, he said that if that requirement does not translate into a recognized and paid value, it ends up being an additional cost for producers.
Gorostidi cited as an example his own experience linked to blueberry exports, where he used a voluntary traceability system because the client required it and paid for it. In his view, when there is no such commercial return, the measure affects the cost structure instead of improving competitiveness. He also said he has posted losses for three fiscal years and warned about the administrative burden and the possible overlap of procedures.
Accountant Patricia Pertman, a member of the Un Solo Uruguay delegation, said that a system of this kind had already been included in the budget law of Tabaré Vázquez’s second government, but stressed that the difference now is that it would be established by law. According to her explanation, that broadens the scope of the parties covered.
From the Broad Front, lawmaker Joaquín Sequeira defended in committee the idea that traceability can add value and recalled the livestock sector’s precedent for opening markets. Even so, he acknowledged that the impact would not be the same for a large exporting producer as for a small one focused on the local market, and said they will take the objections into account when voting.
In the opposition, National Party lawmaker Juan Martín Rodríguez said article 39 is poorly drafted and spoke in favor of it not advancing either in committee or in the Chamber of Deputies’ plenary session.
On the other hand, the Chamber of Industries of Uruguay proposed eliminating or splitting article 140, which refers to simplifying the registry of subsequent importers. That provision allows for the existence of multiple suppliers for the same product subject to technical, sanitary or other oversight, which would allow a company to import a product already registered by a third party.
Economist Álvaro Lalanne, from the economic team, had explained in committee that the measure seeks to promote intra-brand competition. According to la diaria, he said that in several mass-consumption products there are dominant positions and that, when comparing exactly the same brands with other countries in the region, Uruguay shows an average price premium of 70%.
On this point, El País initially reported that the Chamber of Industries warned in committee that lowering costs for imported products without first correcting the competitiveness problems of local production would expose the industry to asymmetric competition. In a document accessed by la diaria, the association added that the simplification would disregard the investment made by those who first registered those products, would generate an unfair advantage for subsequent importers and could favor the entry of opportunistic importers without intertemporal guarantees of traceability, sanitary responsibility and expiration-date control.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
