A survey by Colombia’s national statistics agency DANE has recorded sales totalling $117 billion during 2010 and 2009 in the country’s commercial sector.
A total of 115,890 firms were represented in the survey. Wholesale firms saw sales of $6.4 billion, while retail firms recorded sales of $42.7 billion and the automotive and vehicular firms made $18 billion in sales.
The number of people directly employed in the commercial sector was 808,774, with 74,767 of them contracted through personnel agencies. The annual remuneration of a person directly employed in the commercial sector was $10,800. The highest annual salaries were earned by those who worked with wholesalers, who earned on average $14,600, while those who worked for retailers earned on average $8,400.
Wholesale commerce accounted for 48.2% of sales in the sector, followed by retail commerce which comprised 36.4% of the sector. The remaining 15.4% was made up of automotive, fuel and lubricant commerce. Gross production amounted to $24.6 billion and $15.8 billion of value added was generated.