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Post: Daniel Castillos: Uruguay wants to export wine and honey to Russia

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Daniel Ruben Castillos Gomez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay. archive photo

Uruguay’s Ambassador to Russia Daniel Castillos told RIA Novosti Special Correspondent Alexandra Dibizheva that Montevideo wants to take full advantage of the opportunities available to strengthen trade and economic cooperation with Moscow. In an exclusive interview, the diplomat talked about the possibilities of scientific cooperation between the two countries in Antarctica, and also said that Uruguay is ready to supply Russia, as well as wine and honey.

– The last visit of Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo was already more than two years ago – in November 2020. Does the minister plan to come to Moscow this year?

– At the moment, the visit of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not planned. We are not working on it yet. Of course, we try to keep bilateral relations at the highest possible level. But we are not working on anything concrete yet.

— Will representatives of Uruguay attend SPIEF-2023?

– It’s too early to talk about that. But I can say that at the embassy, ​​we and especially I attach great importance to SPIEF. We believe it is a communication and promotion platform. Uruguay has participated in this forum before. Of course, we are in contact with our authorities to see if we can organize the physical or online participation of someone from Uruguay there. I will join the forum. On the site there is a very important dialogue between entrepreneurs from Russia and Latin America and we would like to be there.

— UAE, Uruguay and Bangladesh recently joined the New Development Bank BRICS. In this context, does Montevideo have any future plans to join the association?

– There is no such plan so far. Regarding participation in the BRICS New Development Bank, non-member countries can participate in separate structures.

– Earlier, the Russian Ambassador to Uruguay said that in 2022, a batch of Russian oil worth $15 million was delivered to Uruguay for the first time in recent years. At the same time, Russian producers are ready to resume oil supplies if Montevideo is interested. Does Uruguay consider maintaining or even increasing its oil supply from Russia? What level? Have you started working on agreements?

— In 2022, the volume of exports from the Russian Federation to Uruguay reached a historical maximum of 118 million dollars. Mineral and chemical fertilizers are among the main export items. They are also mineral fuel and bituminous substances. Right now I can’t say whether Uruguay will increase or keep its oil supply at the same level, we have the oil company ANCAP (Administración Nacional de Combustibles, AlcoholyPortland). He is shopping. I don’t know anything about their plans. But it is clear that as a company they are looking for the best business solutions. If they have an interest in continuing to buy oil, they will. But I don’t know for sure, it depends on them.

– You stated that one of the main purposes of your work in Russia is to increase the trade between the two countries. In particular, you said that this requires joint efforts with Russian authorities and businesses. Have you started working in this direction? If yes, with whom exactly?

— I started working in this direction from my first day here. I arrived in Moscow in June 2021. From that moment on, we rolled up our sleeves and started working intensively with our partners in Russia. The most important part of bilateral relations is related to trade. It is very valuable for us to take part in important forums such as SPIEF and industry fairs that may be of interest to expand Uruguay’s exports to Russia. The Russian market is very important for Uruguay, for example, for the supply of dairy products. Russia ranks first in butter imports from Uruguay and third in cheese purchases. But we are also trying to explore opportunities to source new products. For example, fish products, wine, honey. When it comes to fish, we think we have a lot of potential here. Uruguay already supplies caviar to Russia, and the products are in demand among buyers. That’s why we want to export more fish products here.

We want to make the most of the opportunities we have. You have to be smart and active. There is a certain reality and context. For example, regarding wine: there are traditional exporters from Europe. But now, the situation has changed due to the current situation. Russia is looking for new suppliers. There are so-called “new world” wines – Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. There are many small family wineries in our country, they have great export potential. We supply wine to different markets: USA, Brazil, UK. We have a niche with great potential. We produce tannat, alvarino and white wines.

Now about honey. We are talking not only about honey as an edible product, but also about its derivatives – propolis, pollen, which is used in medicine and cosmetology. Ninety percent of the honey produced in Uruguay is exported. Russia imports honey from Austria, France, Kazakhstan. Here we see opportunities.

Another area that interests us is veterinary medicine. All about animal health. We are looking for partners in Russia to start exporting our products in this field.

Additionally, I still see drug supply potential. Uruguay produces a lot of drugs, we have many international laboratories. It has research potential. We have been working in this field for a long time and are looking for partners for cooperation to develop joint products.

— Did the sanctions affect trade between Russia and Uruguay?

– There are problems with logistics. Russian import companies are working very closely with Uruguayan exporters to find alternative routes. It’s not always easy, but they’re there. These problems affect the prices of the products, they are rising. At the embassy we are in constant communication with our producers in Uruguay and provide them with all necessary information about routes and alternative plans. We are also in contact with Russian importers, we meet with them frequently and explore these alternative routes together.

Yes, there are problems and because of this, we experienced a decrease in our exports. The amount of exports from Uruguay in 2022 was $70 million, and before that it was $110-120 million. So this is a very significant reduction. But there is a desire to maintain ties on both sides. This is a priority for the embassy.

— How can Moscow and Montevideo solve these problems?

— We try to provide as much information as possible so that our exporters know about alternative routes. For example, at one point we discovered that we could deliver wine via Riga. Very important business is going on between exporters and Russian importers, because it is usually the Russian side that tries to provide solutions to our suppliers.

– Uruguayan authorities have repeatedly stated that they are interested in investments from the Russian Federation. In which areas? Is this possibility being discussed now?

— We are a very small country and far from Russia. But I think the idea of ​​business-to-business partnerships is important. I’m working on it and it seems important to me. I think there is a special potential in the pharmaceutical field. Russian enterprises with extensive experience in this field can cooperate with Uruguayan companies. If Russian companies want to sell their products to Uruguay, that’s okay too. But I am more interested in cooperation so that countries can produce certain products in the future.

I think there is a lot of potential in the software space as well. Uruguay ranks first in Latin America in terms of software production. Here we are far ahead of Brazil and Mexico. This is a new field, there are many opportunities.

We export software to European countries, especially the USA. We offer technological solutions for smart cities. Moscow is a very developed city in terms of online services. I think there are many possibilities here.

We can also cooperate in the field of vaccine production. I’m not talking about any particular preparation here, in general.

Another area for collaboration is Antarctica. Both Russia and Uruguay are parties to the Antarctic Treaty. Russia has a station “Bellingshausen” in Antarctica. It is located five kilometers from the Uruguayan science station “Artigas”. Because of this geographical proximity, there is a close scientific and technical exchange. We want to develop joint research projects on environment, climate and biodiversity.

— And now Russia and Uruguay do not have such projects?

– There is cooperation now, but helping our scientists is important to us. The embassy should facilitate this and seek partners. For Uruguay, research in Antarctica is now one of the highest priorities. This is an area with many opportunities. Russia It has the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute located in St. Petersburg. Individual scientists there have informal contacts with our researchers. But we want this cooperation to be as close as possible.

– The Russian Ambassador to Montevideo said that he had previously suggested to Uruguay to consider concluding a mutual legal aid agreement in criminal matters. Does Montevideo have any interest in such an agreement? And if so, when can it be finalized?

— Cooperation in the legal field has always been important for Uruguay, not only with Russia, but also with other countries. I don’t know if there has been any previous communication regarding this particular initiative. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our government will examine this proposal. You need to look in more detail. However, I do not yet know when an agreement can be reached because it is not clear at what stage of coordination this proposal is at the moment.

Source: Ria

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