Colombia has dropped 33 places in the 2014 world rankings of logistics and infrastructure and is now ranking 97, according to a World Bank Report.
Several factors in Colombia hinder competitiveness: delivery times, quality of roads and poor connectivity with its two most important ports Buenaventura and Cartagena, Colombia’s La Vanguardia newspaper reported on Tuesday.
| “In Mexico and Peru, the time needed to export goods [from factory to port] is 12 days and the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is 10, in Colombia it’s 14 days.” |
Colombia now ranks 97 out out of the 160 countries assessed by the World Bank.
“In Mexico and Peru, the time needed to export goods [from factory to port] is 12 days and the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is 10, in Colombia it’s 14 days, ” said Saul Pineda, director of the Center for Competitive Strategies Thinking (CEPEC).
“That’s worrisome, but most important are the costs associated export of inland transport and cargo handling, and on the other hand, the customs operations,”
Expensive to move
According to Doing Business, an export container handling supposed $2,255 which is almost triple the cost of this operation in Peru, at $890.
Roads are the main problem, because they carry 70% of the country’s exports, amounting to 170 million tons, but Colombia only has 900 kilometers of divided highways connecting to five ports. In contrast, Chile has more than 1,500 kilometers to connect with 32 ports on the Pacific.
Barrier to growth
Last week the International Monetary Fund predicted strong, 4.3% growth in Colombia, but infrastructure remains a key bottleneck.
MORE: Colombian GDP to grow 4.3% in 2014: International Monetary Fund
In November 2013, the chief of the (IMF) mission in Colombia, Valerie Cerra told Colombia Reports that key bottlenecks for growth remain, for example, inadequate infrastructure and combating inequality.
“However, the ambitious program for infrastructure investment, particularly the new generation of road concessions, should help alleviate these bottlenecks, provided that the implementation remains fiscally responsible,” she said in 2013.
