That dollar amount reflects a 25.4% increase compared to the $39.5 billion in Colombian exports for five years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, revenues collected for Colombia’s exports in 2023 decreased by -13.5% from $57.3 billion during 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the Colombian peso depreciated by -31.8% against the US dollar since 2019 and declined by -1.6% from 2022 to 2023. Colombia’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Colombia’s Most Valuable Trade Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 71.7% of products exported from Colombia was bought by importers in: United States of America (28.1% of Colombia’s global total), Panama (9.3%), mainland China (5%), India (4.8%), Netherlands (4.12%), Ecuador (4.07%), Brazil (3.81%), Mexico (3.79%), Spain (2.33%), Peru (2.29%), Chile (2.1%) and Poland (1.9%).
From a continental perspective, 33.8% of Colombia’s exports by value was delivered to North American countries while 29.3% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Colombia shipped another 19.3% worth of goods to Asia.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in Europe (15.5%), Africa (1.8%), then Oceania (0.3%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Colombia’s population of 52.2 million people, its total $49.5 billion in 2023 exports translates to about $950 for every resident in the South American sovereign state. That dollar metric outpaces the average $750 per person one year earlier during 2022.
Colombia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Colombian global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Colombia.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$25 billion (50.5% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $3.6 billion (7.3%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $2.9 billion (5.9%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $2.1 billion (4.3%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $1.6 billion (3.1%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.4 billion (2.7%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $851.1 million (1.7%)
- Aluminum: $842.6 million (1.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $787.7 million (1.6%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $744.2 million (1.5%)
Colombia’s top 10 exports generated about four-fifths (80.4%) of the overall value of total Colombian shipments.
Electrical machinery and equipment was the fastest grower among Colombia’s top 10 export categories, up by 20.2% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was aluminum via a 15.7% upturn.
Colombia’s shipments of sugar including sugar confectionery posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 15.5%.
The leading decliner among Colombia’s top 10 export categories was coffee, tea and spices, a product category that recorded a -29% year-over-year drop.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Colombia’s most valuable exported goods are crude oil (25.1% of Colombia’s global total), coal plus solid fuels made from coal (16.2%), unwrought gold (6.9%), refined petroleum oils (5.9%), coffee (also 5.9%), fresh or dried flowers (4.2%), coke and semi-coke (2.3%), bananas and plantains (1.8%), bridge structures and parts (1.3%), then iron ferroalloys (also 1.3%).
Products Generating Colombia’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Colombian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$18.5 billion (Down by -22.8% since 2022)
- Gems, precious metals: $3.5 billion (Up by 15.4%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $2.6 billion (Down by -26.6%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $2 billion (Up by 1.5%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.1 billion (Down by -10.4%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $483.9 million (Up by 25.8%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $344.3 million (Up by 91.7%)
- Aluminum: $328 million (Up by 4953%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $285.2 million (Up by 5.7%)
- Live animals: $215.2 million (Down by -26.9%)
Colombia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of mineral fuels-related exports, particularly crude oil and coal. In turn, these cashflows indicate Colombia’s strong competitive advantages under the oil product category.
Products Causing Colombia’s Worst Trade Deficits
Colombia incurred an overall -US$13.3 billion trade deficit during 2023, reducing by -34.2% from the -$20.2 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.
Below are exports from Colombia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Colombia’s goods trail Colombian importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$5.9 billion (Down by -17.4% since 2022)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$5.3 billion (Down by -27.7%)
- Vehicles: -$4.3 billion (Down by -29.2%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$3.2 billion (Up by 3.9%)
- Cereals: -$2.7 billion (Down by -17.9%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: -$2.3 billion (Down by -4.2%)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.1 billion (Down by -31.8%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$1.8 billion (Up by 0.4%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$1.4 billion (Down by -3.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.1 billion (Down by -41.4%)
Colombia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for machinery including computers and electrical machinery including consumer electronics.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Colombia’s competitive disadvantages under the machinery-related product categories, but also represent key opportunities for Colombia to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.
Colombian Export Companies
Six Colombian corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major Colombian companies that Forbes included.
- Ecopetrol (fuel, petrochemicals)
- Grupo Argos (construction materials)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Colombia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Alpina Productos Alimenticios (dairy products)
- Auteco (vehicles)
- Manuelita (sugar, fruits, vegetables)
- Organizacion Corona (ceramics)
- Ospina Coffee Company (coffee)
In macroeconomic terms, Colombia’s total exported goods represent 4.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($1.016 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 4% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Colombia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Colombia’s unemployment rate averaged 10.8% for 2023, down from an average 11.208% in 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Colombia’s capital city is Bogotá.
See also Colombia’s Top Trading Partners, Colombia’s Top 10 Imports, Peru’s Top Trading Partners, China’s Top Trading Partners and Top US Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Trade CentreCountry Profiles. Accessed on April 10, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 10, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 10, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 10, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 10, 2024
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Exchange Rates data (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, 2000-2023). Accessed on April 10, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 10, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Colombia. Accessed on April 10, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 10, 2024