Colombia's trade deficit increases by 52.9% in February

On April 21, it was known that Colombia's trade deficit increased by 52.9% in February, which means that it reached 1,101.8 million dollars, compared to the same month last year, due to a greater dynamism of imports amid the recovery of the economy from the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, the national government reported.

The most recent report by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) revealed that during the second month of 2021 the red balance of foreign trade in Latin America's fourth economy reached $720.3 million.

In addition, the trade deficit in February resulted from imports of 5,304.1 million dollars and exports of 4,202.3 million dollars. While the value of imports made by the South American country soared by 44.9% year-on-year in February, that of foreign sales rose by 42.9%, DANE said in a statement.

The figures reflect the recovery in Colombia's activity, which would expand by 5% this year, according to the national government, from the 10.6% growth in 2021 explained by higher domestic consumption and a statistical effect following the historic contraction of 7% in 2020.

In the first two months, Colombia accumulated a deficit in its trade balance of 2,786.8 million dollars, 63.2 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

Between January and February the value of imports increased by 48.6 per cent to 10,790.6 million dollars, while that of exports grew by 44.2 per cent to $8,003.8 million.

The Office of Economic Studies (OEE) of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism confirmed that during February 2022, retail sales increased by 4.9% compared to the previous year. With this increase in the retail sector during February, there are already 13 months of sustained growth. The report also highlighted that 13 of the 19 sectors analysed by DANE reported positive variation.

“According to this report, we can see that, despite the increase in inflation, the sector has performed well both in sales and employment generation, which shows that Colombia remains under #CrecimientoEconómicoSeguro,” said Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, María Ximena Lombana.

The largest increase was reported in the vehicle fuel sectors with 10.1 per cent, spare parts and lubricants with 16.9 per cent, clothing with 29 per cent, footwear and leather goods with 48.8 per cent, and personal hygiene and cosmetics with 7.5 per cent.

The positive trend was reported in the information from the departments of Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Santander, Valle, Atlántico and the city of Bogotá. The result was also reflected in an increase in employment of 2.2 per cent. By region, this impact on the labour market covered almost all departments, except Valle del Cauca.

Good sales performance was confirmed by the Commercial Confidence Index measured by FeDesarrollo, which stood at 37.4% in February. This represents an increase of 3.2 percentage points compared to the same month last year. Similarly, the survey conducted by Fenalco reported an increase in sales of 42% of the merchants consulted.

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