Colombia saw a more than 40% drop in exports from the United States in April, while still remaining Colombia’s biggest single export market, according to the latest figures from national statistics agency DANE.
Colombia’s total export to US dropped 15.2 percentage point of the total exports for April, which is a 41.4% drop compared to April in 2013. This is part of an overall drop in Colombia’s exports of $ 650 million in April, a decrease in 13.1 %, DANE reported on Monday.
Between January and April Colombia’s exports dropped 6.8%. In the same period sales to the US fell 31.5% representing 11.2 percentage points of the exports for that period.
MORE: Colombia’s Q1 exports to US down 28% on year
US still remains the main destination for Colombian exports with 26.2% of the total exports followed by China (11.5%), India (8.9%), Panama (8.3%), and Spain (5.8%).
The total exports in April 2014 only reached $4.30 billion compared to April 2013 when the country exported for $4.95 billion – a drop in approximately $650 million.
On a brighter note, exports to China, Spain, and Panama together contributed an increase in 15.2 percentage points of total exports for April.
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Last week a report was released showing that Colombia’s trade balance with U.S. dropped by over 400% in April compared to the same month last year. Colombia’s imports from the United States went up by $309 million when at the same time exports to the United States went down $241 million.
In the first four months of 2014, the Colombia-United States trade balance fell by more than $1.4 billion as compared to 2013.
These troubling numbers are part of a larger trend where Colombia’s trade with U.S. has suffered since the implentation of the Free Trade Agreement two years ago.
MORE: Santos’ fta promises prove false; colombia’s exports to us drop 15.5%
DANE attributes the $ 650 million drop to falling exports of fuels and minerals. This 10.7% fall in these exports came from mainly from coal products and falls in oil and oil products, which are key exports for the country.
MORE: 7 years of oil reserves no ‘doomsday scenario’ for Colombia: Analyst
There were also export decreases in the manufacturing sector (19.8%), industry and a drop of 46.8% in “other sectors” that can be contributed to a decrease in gold sale.
Exports of agricultural products dropped 3.1% due to lower sales of flowers and foliage (-28.9%) and cattle that dropped almost 100%. But this were offset by a 49.4% increase in sales of unroasted coffee.
Sources
Exportaciones disminuyeron 13,1% en abril de 2014 (DANE press release)
