The foot and mouth epidemic has been blamed for a sharp fall in export figures from Uruguay. According to the country's central bank, exports fell 16.1% in August compared with last year.

The biggest falls were in the country's traditional exports such as meat, wool and leather, which fell by over 20%. However, other sectors were also affected, with an average drop of 1.5% in non-traditional markets. For the twelve months to August, traditional exports reached $561.5 million, a fall of 19.1% compared with the previous twelve months. Non traditional exports were $1.78 billion, down 3.8%

Exports of beef, which is the biggest single earner for Uruguay, were suspended on April 24 following the foot and mouth outbreak

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