Promising markets for 2022

By Pittaluga Abogados

In its 2022 edition of Promising Markets note, Atradius identified opportunities for trade in 2022 in Uruguay, Côte d’Ivoire, Israel, Qatar and Taiwan.

The report higlighted the following points: 

With 3.0% growth in real GDP forecast, Uruguay’s economy will surpass its pre-crisis levels in 2022. Government policies implemented in Q4 2021 including a reopening of borders, the elimination of value-added tax (VAT) for tourists and loans to stimulate the tourism sector – which accounted for 17.4% of Uruguay’s GDP in 2019 – will support growth this year.

-While Latin America has been the hardest hit region by the pandemic, prioritisation of the vaccination rollout has ensured that 77.3% of Uruguayans are now fully vaccinated. This should support 3.6% growth in private consumption in 2022. Demand for automobiles and electronics in particular is expected to be strong, offering growth opportunities in those sectors.

-Next to tourism, Uruguay’s other main sector is food, including agricultural and meat production. Exports in these sectors are expected to grow substantially this year, barring adverse weather conditions, and producers are benefitting from higher food prices. 

-Uruguay is also facing rising prices but the country has strong shock resilience. Inflation, at 8.0%, has surpassed the upper bound of the central bank’s current target range of 3% to 7% and is expected to remain above this through the year. The central bank is accordingly hiking interest rates and the tightening cycle may be quicker than expected, depending on US monetary tightening, to prevent peso depreciation and capital.

-Uruguay is one of the strongest democracies in the world, with a stable political and business environment, underpinning its robust outlook.