In the first two months of the year, which includes the months of January and February, Colombia only registered a trade surplus with two of the main economic blocks region of.
(Consequences for Latin America of the traffic jam in the port of Shanghai).
These results come from the recent foreign trade bulletins that the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) and show the x-ray of the country’s foreign trade before the outbreak of the war.
Thus, according to the statistical document, Colombia only has a trade surplus with the member countries of the Latin American Integration Association (Aladi) and the Andean Community of Nations.
(Chile seeks synergies with Colombia to promote innovation).
For the two-month period under study, the country registers a total of US$1,793.108 million in imports and US$2,570.452 million in exports, which gives a balance of US$777.3 million in favor.
Currently, this integration mechanism is made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Subsequently, the results of the CAN are derived from there. Thus, Colombian exports to this regional conglomerate were in the order of US$472 million in the two-month period, while imports reached US$375.5 million for a positive trade balance of US$114.5 million.
It is worth remembering that the CAN is made up of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
On the other hand, it is worth noting that the country registers an imbalance trade with two of the other important trade blocs in the region, such as the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and the Pacific Alliance (AP), of which Colombia is a part.
In the case of the community market in the south of the continent, Colombia achieved imports for US$770.1 million in the two-month period while it achieved exports for US$459.4 million; thus achieving a deficit balance of US$310.7 million. For this measurement, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are taken into account, remembering that Venezuela is suspended as a member.
In the case of the AP, Colombia’s sales to the agency reached US$628.2 million in the two-month period, when parallel purchases represented US$785 million for an unfavorable trade balance of US$156.8 million.
Currently, the Pacific Alliance is comprised, in addition to Colombia, by Mexico, Chile and Peru. The country’s performance with the block is, in general terms, positive, except for the deficit balance of its trade with Mexico for US$302.3 million, which drags down the general behavior.
BALANCE WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION
Outside of Latin America, the country also registers a trade imbalance in this two-month period of 2022.
According to the Dane document, Colombian exports to the European bloc reached US$738.3 million between January and February 2022 and parallel imports reached US$1,557.671 million. In this way, a trade balance with a deficit of US$819.2 million was achieved.
Belgium, Estonia, Greece, the Netherlands and Poland, among the EU countries with a positive balance.
ROBERTO CASAS LUGO
BRIEFCASE
