The Colombian exports grew 45.2% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, ratifying the momentum they obtained in the economic reactivation of the country.
(Read: Colombian rice will be exported, for the first time, to the United States).
This was stated this Tuesday by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) in the March report on the outside saleswhich includes the behavior of the first quarter.
In this way, between January and March foreign sales were recorded for US$12,972.7 million compared to the US$8,933.5 million recorded in the same period a year ago.
In the period of 2022 the fuel division grew 71.9% from US$3,994.1 million last year to US$6,864.3 million for the current year. This category represented 32.1% of the basket in these three months.
The second division that grew the most was manufacturing (28%), going from a total of US$1,921.3 million in the first three months of 2021 to US$2,463.7 million in the current quarter. This category contributed 6.1% of the export basket. On the other hand, the third category that grew the most was agriculture, food and beverages (27.8%), which reached US$2,973.6 million in the analysis period from US$2,327.1 million in the first quarter of 2021 .
Main products
According to the Dane document, hydrocarbon exports practically dominate in the first three months, with oil taking the lead, adding US$4,240,064 million, double the period in 2021, and participating with 32% in the export basket. .
They are followed by thermal coals (carbon) as the second product on the list. In the period they added US$1,418,888 million, also doubling their 2021 record, and participating with 10.9% in the basket.
(Besides: Colombian exports grew 45.2% in the first quarter).
The first five positions are closed byl unroasted coffee (US$1,089,771 million), gold (US$634,796 million, fell compared to 2021) and coke and semi-coke (US$475,312 million). Flowers and bananas, of the main non-mining-energy products, occupy the sixth and seventh boxes, respectively, according to the document.
Destinations
In the period between January and March 2022, the United States was the main destination for Colombian exports, with a 24.5% share of the total value exported; They followed in their order of participation: Panama (13.1%), India (6.7%), China (5%), Brazil (4.6%), Turkey (3.7%) and Ecuador (3.6%).
“In the period January-March 2022, the destination countries that mainly contributed to the increase in Colombian exports were Panama and the United States, together contributing 21.9 percentage points.”, indicated the Dane in the report.
Thus, exports destined for the United States totaled US$3,182.4 million, growing 25.2% compared to the same period in 2021, motivated by oil sales.
ROBERTO CASAS LUGO
