What does Colombia export to its main destinations?

Published on 25 September 2018

The country has had a good performance in its exports over the last months. The quotation of the main products that it exports gives an explanation.

Colombia is known for its coffee, but it has an export offer that places it as one of the most important sources of other products worldwide. In fact, the value of hydrocarbon exports is higher than that of grain.

To this, hydrocarbons are the most outstanding products. Besides being an oil country, Colombia stands out for its supply of coal, used for the generation of energy and industrial furnaces. Although demand has been affected by the trend towards the use of clean technologies, it is still large and prices have recovered since the beginning of 2016, as has happened with oil.

Next, we review the Colombian export portfolio to its main trading partners.

The scale of the hydrocarbon industry in the United States makes it an ideal country to send crude oil to be refined. On the other hand, being the base of the global financial system, the North American country is, together with Switzerland, the main destination of gold shipments. Finally, it is important to highlight the size of the domestic consumption market, so that bananas, coffee, and flowers are also present.

Panama, as a global port hub, is a point of transit for fuels, which implies temporary customs clearance. However, if the figures of the other products are revised, it is seen that the Panamanian market is quite minor for the rest of the products.

In addition to hydrocarbons, the Chinese market stands out as a destination for raw materials. However, the size of the market also allows chemical-pharmaceutical and food products to be sent, as is the case with coffee. However, Colombia's product mix means that China is not as relevant to its exports as it is to copper producers.

The balance of the export portfolio to Ecuador is quite balanced as it is a regional destination, there are high value products prepared specifically for the region, such as automobiles and freight vehicles. Likewise, consumer goods such as sugar, textiles and paper, such as sugar, are in high demand.

The Brazilian demand for Colombian products is purely industrial. Both its refinery network and its consumer goods and energy matrix industry demand inputs that Colombia offers at a lower cost because of the savings in transfers, given the proximity.

Together with coal for the energy matrix, the Netherlands has an intensive demand for agricultural products. This is because the port of Rotterdam is the gateway to the European continent.

The Turkish demand for Colombian products is mainly energy. However, it offers an opportunity for agricultural products that can look for success in a large market.

In general, Colombian exports have performed well over the past few months. The best oil prices (from less than US $ 50 to around US $ 75 in the last year) and coal (from US $ 50 to more than US $ 65 in the same period) have allowed them to rise over 20 consecutive months until June of this year, and close with a growth of 14.7% over the same period of 2017.

For more information on Colombian exports, you can visit the Veritrade portal
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