Colombia: Export growth moderates in May
Merchandise exports grew 39.4% in annual terms in May, easing from April’s 56.4% expansion which had marked an over 12-year high. Looking at the details of the press release, May’s softer increase was largely attributed to moderating growth in shipments of agricultural and manufacturing products. That said, fuel shipments, the country’s key export, rose at a quicker pace over the previous month.
Merchandise imports eased marginally to 50.1% year-on-year in May, following April’s 51.1% jump. As a result, the merchandise trade deficit widened to USD 1.0 billion in May from USD 0.5 billion in May 2020. Lastly, the trend deteriorated, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 11.5 billion deficit in May, compared to the USD 11.0 billion deficit tallied in April.
LatinFocus Consensus Forecast panelists project merchandise exports to expand 19.9% in 2021, and merchandise imports to grow 14.5%, resulting in a USD 7.4 billion trade deficit. In 2022 our panel estimates merchandise exports and imports to grow 8.1% and 6.1% respectively, with a trade deficit of USD 7.1 billion.