The increase in foreign purchases of manufactured goods is notable, but the trade deficit continues to widen amid declines in the agricultural sector.
In July 2024, Colombian imports reached US$ 5,581.1 million CIF, representing a growth of 12.9% compared to the same month in 2023, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).
This performance was mainly driven by the 18% increase in imports from the manufacturing group, which accounted for 78.9% of the total value. Foreign purchases in this sector increased from US$3,731.9 million CIF in July 2023 to US$4,403 million in July 2024, consolidating itself as the main driver of Colombian foreign trade.
Growth in manufacturing was led by higher purchases of machinery, transport equipment and chemical products. Imports of machinery and transport equipment increased by 17.8%, while those of chemical and related products rose by 19.3%.
For their part, imports of agricultural products, food and beverages, which accounted for 11.5% of the total in July 2024, decreased by 8.4% compared to the same month in 2023. This drop, from US$ 703.8 million CIF to US$ 644.5 million CIF, was largely explained by the reduction in purchases of food products and live animals, which decreased by 13.5%.
As for the group of fuels and extractive industry products, which accounted for 9.4% of total imports in July 2024, purchases increased by 4.9%, reaching US$ 524.5 million CIF.
This increase was related to higher purchases of non-ferrous metals, whose external purchases grew by 23.5%, adding 2.8 percentage points to the total variation of the group.
Accumulated imports
In the cumulative period from January to July 2024, Colombian imports reached US$ 36,153.1 million CIF, registering a decrease of 1.7% compared to the same period in 2023.
Despite this slight decline, the manufacturing sector showed stable performance, with a marginal growth of 0.1%. This sector, which totaled US$ 26.91 billion CIF, was driven by the 5.6% increase in purchases of chemical products and related products.
On the other hand, imports of agricultural products, food and beverages fell by 8.3% in the first seven months of the year, totaling US$ 5,243.6 million CIF. This decrease was mainly due to lower purchases of food products and live animals, which fell by 8.2%.
The group of fuels and extractive industry products, which totaled US$ 3,929.8 million CIF in the period January-July 2024, also showed a drop of 5.2% compared to the same period in 2023.
This behaviour was explained by the decrease in imports of mineral fuels and lubricants, which fell by 6.4%.
China and the United States lead as main trading partners
In terms of countries of origin, China and the United States continue to be Colombia's main trading partners. In July 2024, imports from China accounted for 27% of the total, while those from the United States accounted for 23.8%.
Foreign purchases from China, which registered an increase of 36.1% compared to July 2023, were driven by higher purchases of electric generators, cell phones, laptops and motor vehicles for the transportation of people, with growth of up to 177.8% in the latter category.
Imports from the United States also showed positive performance, with a growth of 14.8%, which, added to the performance of China, contributed a total of 11.5 percentage points to the total variation in imports in July 2024.
However, not all countries showed increases. Imports from France, for example, fell by a third (31.4%) in July 2024 compared to the same month of the previous year.
And so far this year?
During the period from January to July this year, the United States remained the main source of imports, with a share of 25.8%. It was followed by China, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, India and Japan.
Among the countries that contributed most to the decrease in Colombian imports are Brazil (-25.3%) and France (-29.7%), with a joint contribution of 2.7 negative percentage points.
The drop in imports from Brazil was marked by a 99.7% reduction in corn purchases and a one-third reduction in motor vehicles.
Trade balance : increasing deficit
In July 2024, the country recorded a trade balance deficit of US$617.9 million FOB, an increase compared to the deficit of US$527.7 million FOB in the same month in 2023. This result is explained by a greater increase in imports compared to exports.
In July of this year, exports totaled US$ 4,618.3 million FOB, while imports were US$ 5,236.2 million FOB.
In the cumulative period from January to July 2024, the trade balance deficit was US$ 5,577.4 million FOB, a slight improvement compared to the deficit of US$ 5,855.4 million FOB recorded in the same period in 2023.
Despite the reduction in the deficit, the country's trade balance continues to show a negative balance, driven by the increase in external purchases and the slow growth of exports.
This behavior highlights the challenges facing the Colombian economy in terms of its foreign trade, where the increase in imports of key sectors such as manufacturing and fuels has not been offset by an equivalent growth in exports.
