However, while consumption of pig meat and poultry has risen, consumption of beef dropped slightly last year.

Consumption of beef went down from 61.2kg to 60.6kg while consumption of pig meat went up from 9.7kg to 10.5kg and poultry meat consumption rose from 19kg to 19.5kg.

Despite the drop in beef consumption last year, the demand for beef together with pork and poultry has been rising over the last five years.

Lamb consumption also fell slightly last year despite a continued upward trend over the last few years.

According to the national meat institute - the main meat marketing body in Uruguay, consumption trends in the country have been influenced by customs and habit, but the growth has also been attributed to a growing purchasing power of the consumer and the price of the product.

Consumption has been affected by the increases in beef prices compared to those of pig and poultry meat. Beef prices rose by 19.1 per cent while pig and poultry meat prices fell by 0.8 per cent and 10.9 per cent respectively, over the last six year.

At the same time the Uruguayan population's purchasing power rose by 28 per cent.