12:24 PM
According to the export information processed by Dane and Dian, in April the The country’s external sales totaled US$4,408.8 million, which represented a growth of 17.9% compared to April 2023.
This result was mainly due to 12.3% growth in external sales of the group of fuels and products from the extractive industries. In the fourth month of this year, exports of fuels and products from extractive industries participated with 48.5% of the total value of exports (US$2,138.3 million); Likewise, agricultural, food and beverages with 21.5%; manufacturing with 21.4%, and other sectors with 8.6%.
In April, 15.0 million barrels of crude oil were exported, which represented a drop of 2.4% compared to April 2023, Dane added.
Bancolombia analysts anticipated that exports would show signs of improvement in April, and according to their projections they were going to grow 19%, reaching US$4,450 million. Along these lines, economic researchers explained that the upward trend would be a consequence of changes in the prices of some raw materials, specifically oil, since it is one of the main products in the traditional basket, and in April they observed an increase in the Brent price at US$5.
However, “although A continued decline in export levels is anticipated for the rest of the year, It is important to highlight that they still exceed pre-pandemic levels. In general, its short-term behavior will depend on the evolution of raw material prices and the changes in climatic phenomena that occur in the country in the coming months,” reads the financial entity’s analysis.
In April, The United States was the main destination for Colombian exports with a participation of 26.8% in the total exported value; Next in order were the participations of: Panama, Mexico, India, China, Ecuador and Brazil.
In the report for the period January – April, Colombian exports totaled US$15,707.4 million, showing a decrease of 2.9%, compared to the same period in 2023.
In the first four months of this year, exports of the group of fuels and products of the extractive industries They were US$7,736.7 million, falling 10.0% compared to the same period in 2023. This behavior was mainly due to the fall in external sales of coal, coke and briquettes (-28.2%).
In the period January – April 2024, Exports of the group of agricultural products, food and beverages were US$3,638.5 million and they had a growth of 8.8% compared to the same period in 2023, mainly as a result of the increase in sales of fresh or dried bananas (including plantains) (88.4%) and cut flowers and foliage (10.7%).
So far this year, The United States was the main destination for Colombian exports, with a participation of 27.3% in the total exported value; They followed in their order of participation: Panama, India, China, Mexico, Ecuador and Brazil.
