Colombia: Exports continue to soar in January
According to the National Department of Administrative Statistics (DANE), exports continued soaring at a double-digit pace in January, expanding for the fifteenth consecutive month. Exports grew 14.6% year-on-year in the month, beating December’s 13.6% jump. The headline figure reflected an increase in the exports of the three major product groups. In annual terms, overseas sales of farming, food and beverages climbed 27.0%. Manufacturing exports followed closely behind, jumping 22.4%, while exports of fuels and products of extractive industries rose 13.2%. Higher exports of these products countered a contraction in overall exports in other sectors.
In December—the most recent month for which data is available—imports contracted 10.0% year-on-year, a sharper decline than November’s 4.3% yoy drop. The decline was largely due to a sharp drop in fuel imports, which fell 25.2% in annual terms, along with a double-digit contraction in the imports of other sectors.
The trade balance swung to a USD 485.4 million surplus in December, from a USD 384.2 million deficit in the same month of the previous year, and a USD 761.7 million shortfall in November of the same year.