Destination — South America

Shipping from China to Uruguay — 35–54 days sea freight, duty and customs

Montevideo takes direct service from China: 9 of 25 sailings in October 2026 were direct at 35–42 days, with Shekou reaching it in 35. The schedule is comparatively thin at 25 sailings, which is typical for the River Plate. Duty and the 22% VAT were not substantiated from Uruguayan customs, so those are confirmed per shipment.

35–54 days sea freight from China to Uruguay. What Uruguay requires on arrival: who may import, what duty and tax apply, and which certification and product rules must be in place.

What does Uruguay require before the cargo can be imported?

Uruguay is served from China by ocean, air and express, and the arrival-side requirements below are the part that most often changes a landed cost or holds a shipment at the port. Each position is the one we publish for this market and is confirmed per shipment against the actual commodity code and destination city.

What duty, tax and levies apply on arrival?

Duty and taxThe Uruguayan duty position has not been substantiated from a primary source here: the customs site did not render the tariff from this environment. MERCOSUR applies a common external tariff, but the applicable rate is confirmed per shipment rather than generalised. Source: Not substantiated · retrieved 2026-09-19
Import taxUruguayan VAT is charged on the customs value plus duty. The rate has not been substantiated from a primary source here, so it is confirmed per shipment. Source: Not substantiated · retrieved 2026-09-19

Who is allowed to import into this market?

Import registrationBrazil RADAR / Siscomex with NCM coding, and an Argentina SIMI import permit, are required before clearance
Importer of recordA Uruguayan importer of record is required, and declarations run through the customs system. The registration route is confirmed per shipment. Source: Not substantiated · retrieved 2026-09-19

What certification or product rules must be in place before shipping?

Certification and product rulesRegulated categories carry their own approvals. Which instruments apply to a given shipment is confirmed per shipment. Source: Not substantiated · retrieved 2026-09-19

How long does the freight take from China?

Published carrier or forwarder ranges for this lane. Where no figure could be substantiated the row says so rather than offering an estimate.

ModeTypical transitWhat it covers
Ocean freight — Montevideo35–54 daysPort to port, measured across 25 published sailings in October 2026. 9 were direct at 35–42 days: Shekou 35–39, Ningbo 37–38, Shanghai 38–42. Source: ONE (Ocean Network Express) public point-to-point schedule API · retrieved 2026-09-19
Air freightConfirmed per shipmentNo authoritative airport-to-airport figure for this lane has been substantiated yet. Source: Not substantiated · retrieved 2026-09-19
Express courierConfirmed per shipmentThe courier networks do not publish a China-to-Uruguay door-to-door day count we can cite. Source: Not substantiated · retrieved 2026-09-19

Which gateway does cargo arrive through for Uruguay?

The port, airport or inland terminal this destination's cargo arrives through.

Gateway portsSantos, Itapoa and Paranagua, Buenos Aires, Callao, Valparaiso and San Antonio
Gateway airportsGRU, EZE, SCL, LIM
Destination portsMontevideo is the gateway, and it takes direct calls from China in 35–42 days. The published schedule is thinner than the other lanes in this batch, so booking windows matter more here.

How do you turn this into a landed cost?

Duty is assessed per commodity code, so the positions above tell you what to prepare rather than what you will pay. Screen the official duty range for the HS chapter your product falls in with the HS chapter duty lookup, then put the rate for your actual code through the landed cost calculator to see duty, import tax and levies on the CIF value. Sailing schedules, loading ports and the stage-by-stage breakdown for this lane are confirmed per shipment and come back with your quotation.

Positions reviewed 2026-09-19 by Helen Peng. Duty, importer-of-record and certification answers are confirmed per shipment: a change of commodity code, origin documentation or destination city can change the position.

Where is the rest of this lane documented?

This page covers arrival requirements only. Sailing schedules, loading ports and the stage-by-stage breakdown are confirmed per shipment and come back with your quotation, so they are not restated here.

Where are the photographs of this destination?

We have not yet photographed this lane's destination operations. Rather than borrow a stock or generated picture, the slots below are left empty and labelled. They are filled only with our own photographs from this lane.

Photo to be addedArrival and handling of our cargo in UruguayOur own photograph from this lane, once recorded
Photo to be addedFinal delivery in UruguayOur own photograph from this lane, once recorded

Need the duty confirmed for your product?

Send the commodity, its material, its use and the destination city, and we will confirm the position.

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