The opening of Saudi Arabia's dairy market to Uruguay offers new opportunities for high-value-added dairy products, Uruguayan newspaper El País reported on September 1, 2022. 'The opening of any market is very important for Uruguayan dairy products,' said Mr. Juan Daniel Vago, president of Uruguay's National Institute of Dairy Research (INALE, Instituto Nacional de la Leche). 'Arab countries have a strong purchasing power and can import a lot of products with high added value.'

Dairy products are an important part of the Saudi diet. Saudi Arabia is a large dairy producer in its own right, but its domestic dairy production is expensive and it is only 72 percent self-reliant, with the rest imported, mainly from the European Union and New Zealand. With cheese imports account for 30 per cent of dairy products, infant formula 23 per cent, whole milk powder 16 per cent and butter 10 per cent. Whole milk powder, which is also Uruguay's main dairy export, is taxed at 12%, cheese at 5.82% and butter at 9%.

China is still a major importer of Uruguayan dairy products, and dairy consumption continues to rise. Mr. Vago said he was very optimistic about the prospects for Uruguay's dairy industry and called for continued increases in domestic production.