Advantages of Investing in Farmland

• Increasing global demand for food
• Consistent long-term appreciation
• Annual cash return
• Non-volatile asset
• Store of value

Investor-Friendly Country

• Foreign and local investors treated equally
• No limitations to ownership by foreign buyers
• No currency exchange controls or forced conversion
• Foreign currency can be used: Dollars, Euros, etc.
• No restrictions or taxes when transferring money into, or out of the country (repatriation of capital)

Stability and Safety

• Latin America’s safest country
• Tops rankings in political and economic stability
• Tops rankings in transparency and lack of corruption
• No social turmoil: existence of middle class and Latin America’s lowest income gap
• Solid legal system with strong reputation for respect of contracts and private property

Why Farmland in Uruguay?

Advantage # 1: Uruguay’s Suitability

• Non-degraded soil
• Even rainfall year-round
• World’s largest aquifer beneath region
• Temperate climate
• Two crops per year (over long run: 1.7)
• Competitive producer
• No government intervention in the market
• Developed land rental market

Uruguay: A Global Player

• 6th exporter of soybeans
• 5th exporter of dairy products
• 4th exporter of rice
• 5% of global beef exports ... Plus, Uruguay is the only country in the world with 100% traceability of its herd

A country of 3 million feeding 40 million people

Plus: One of the World’s Best Places for Forestry

• Fastest growth rate of eucalyptus, due to soil, climate and water availability: 8-10 year cycles
• World’s highest FSC certification: 85% of forests
• In 2006 UPM (Finland) and in 2010 Stora Enso (Sweden) built the world’s largest and newest pulp mills ....and in 2019 UPM launched a new one:

Global soil degradation, and where Uruguay stands

Escasez de agua a nivel global y la posición de Uruguay

Advantage # 2: Turnkey, Easy Investment

Most investors choose to:

• Outsource management of the operation to a farm management firm, which handles all aspects of the business (expertise is widespread and available); or
• Lease out the land (there is a very liquid rental market available).

Advantage # 3: Transparent Market for Land

• The country is mapped, with soil types classified according to their productivity
• Each type of soil is has a productivity index (“CONEAT” index)
• The map is available online
• Thus, land productivity is verifiable

The Online “CONEAT” Productivity Index

• Type here
• Plug in the property number(s)
• The system will show the specific property’s:
• location and water resources (rivers, creeks, lakes)
• detailed soil map, with soil types in different colors, and the percentage of each soil type
• description of each soil type
• the productivity index of each soil type (“CONEAT” index)
• the average “CONEAT” index for the whole property

The Online CONEAT System: Example

Advantages of the CONEAT System

• It allows anyone to verify the productivity potential of a property in Uruguay
• It provides a tool to determine uses for a specific farm
• The CONEAT index of a property correlates with the price of the land. The market is thus very transparent: it is easy to compare properties and determine their fair value

Types of Land in Uruguay

• Agriculture (soybeans, wheat, rice, etc.)
• Cattle/sheep ranches, dairy farms
• Forestry: eucalyptus, pine
• Vineyards / olives / blueberries
• Oceanside rural land for development

Uruguay’s Most Attractive Options

The Price of Land

Farming has favorable tax treatment in Uruguay:

Income tax:

• Flat 25% income tax rate, levied on net income
• For small farms, the rate is lower: farms with gross income below USD 250,000 per year have a capped tax amount of USD 5,125 (IMEBA system, which taxes sales –at 0 to 2%- instead of net income).
• Certain timber operations qualify for tax breaks

Low property taxes: average is 0.2% *

Our Services

We are a full-service Law and Tax Firm, with a specialized division assisting overseas farmland investors, both institutional and individual.

Our Farmland investment advisory unit assists with:

• Sourcing farmland according to client needs/preferences
• Structuring purchases
• Organizing corporate structures, setting up ongoing farm management

Our Legal and Tax Services include:

• Conveyance / Legal Assistance in the Purchase Process
• Tax and Accounting Support
• International Taxation
• Company Incorporation
• Legal Services in general (contractual, corporate, labor).