Colombia’s exports fall sharply in the first half of 2023: the three main destinations bought much less

Year 2023 has been defined by the global economic slowdown, which means less international demand for goods. Colombia’s exports have been seriously affected. It was not a good first half of the year for the country.

Colombia’s cumulative exports from January to July 2023 were down 16.4% compared to the same months of 2022, showed the most recent DANE publication.

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From January to July 2023, Colombia’s exports decreased by USD $5,642 million compared to the same period in 2022. A drop of 16.4%, revealed DANE

From January to July 2022, Colombia’s exports totaled USD $34,325 million. In the same period of 2023, they barely reached USD $28,683, a drop of 16.4%. In all important items there was a decrease in exports.

The sector that fared the worst was fuels and products of extractive industries. It showed a reduction of 23.8% with respect to the first half of the previous year. While from January to July 2022, USD $19,506 million of these products were sold abroad, in the first half of this year exports totaled USD $14,861 million.

Colombia’s exports of agricultural products, food and beverages decreased by 15%. In the first semester of 2022, they exceeded USD $7,070 million. In 2023, they remained at USD $6,003 million, according to figures published by DANE. The most significant reductions are in unroasted coffee (31%) and palm oil (35%).

Manufactures fell 3.4%. Colombia went from exporting USD $6,071 million in the first half of 2022, to exporting USD $5,866 million in the same period of 2023. In this group of products the ones that decreased the most were ferronickel (25%) and chemical products (12%).

Colombia’s exports go mainly to the United States

This first half of the year saw a reduction in sales to the three main destinations for Colombian products.

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During the first half of 2023, the United States was the main destination for our products, with a 26% share in the total value exported by Colombia. From January to July, USD $7,462 million of the USD $28,683 million exported in total were sent to that country. Although it continues to be the main destination, it suffered a 16.6% reduction compared to the same period in 2022.

As the main export destination, the lower demand from that country has affected us greatly. Of the 16.4 percentage points that exports fell in the first half of 2023, the reduction in sales to the United States accounts for 4.3 percentage points. In other words, more than a quarter of the drop in Colombia’s exports is due to the reduction in trade with the United States.

The second destination of Colombia’s exports from January to July 2023 was Panama. According to the DANE publication, 8.9% of total exports went there. Well, exports to Panama showed a 30% reduction with respect to the first half of 2022. These went from USD $3,659 million to USD $2,541 million.

The podium of the main destinations is closed by the Netherlands, where 4.7% of Colombia’s exports went in the first half of 2023. This destination showed a 19% reduction compared to data from January to July 2022, according to DANE figures.

Colombia’s exports in July 2023 were not the exception

Colombia’s exports in July were within the trend of the first half of the year, although the drop was even larger. July exports were down 30% compared to the same month of 2022. Thus, when comparing both months, the country went from exporting USD $5,913 million to USD $4,095 million, according to DANE.

Most of this drop is explained by fuels and extractive industries, an item that went from exporting USD $3,733 million in July 2022 to exporting USD $2,117 million in July 2023, which means a reduction of 44.3%.

Meanwhile, exports of agricultural products, food and beverages contracted 13.2% from July 2022 to July 2023.

And, with regard to manufacturing, there was a 10.6% drop when comparing the value of exports in July 2022 with that of the same month in 2023.

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