Uruguay is planning to import large quantities of Australian Merino semen and embryos reported Australian Stock & Land Newspaper.

LARGE-scale exports of Australian Merino semen and embryos could soon be flowing to Uruguay, mirroring the volume of dairy genetics that regularly cross into Australia from North America.

According to a report the information come from Pennsylvania-based Ag-Link genetics buyer Pablo Echevarria, who has been contracted by the Uruguayan government to seek sheep genetics to bolster its production capacity.

The trade of Merino genetics to the South American country could ignite a new market for Australian Merino producers into a country that has had its sheep flock halve from 21 million head to below 10 million in recent years.

According to Mr Echevarria, "The new Uruguayan government is adamant about raising its agricultural production capacity – and specifically sheep and dairy. Valuable Uruguayan grazing land had been decimated by soybean plantations and deforestation, but the new President Jose "Pepe" Mujica had made it a goal to boost his countries agricultural sector – its number one export industry - when he was elected in November last year.

The Uruguay agriculture sector contributed 9.8 per cent to the nation's GDP in 2009, compared to the industry sector at 32.8pc and services at 57.4pc.

Uruguay’s main export market was the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which accounted for 39pc of total shipments. Brazil was the second largest market, taking 24pc of the total, followed by China at 8pc.

Source: Stock & Land