This value also represented more than half, 52.7%, of everything that Colombia sold to the world in those six months.

“The behavior of what the country exported in the first six months of the year in products other than oil and coal, ratifies not only the behavior that non-mining exports have been registering for months, but also that step by step we are advancing in the transformation of the productive fabric and the diversification of the export basket. From the commerce, industry, and tourism sector, we continue to provide entrepreneurs in the regions with all the instruments and institutional offer to guarantee the sophistication and expansion of the offer,” said the Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Diana Marcela Morales Rojas.

In volume, shipments also continue to increase. Between January and June, there were 5.1 million tons, for a growth of 9.6% compared to the first half of 2024. Within the non-mining basket, the exports that had the greatest weight in the period of analysis were those of the agricultural sector, which accounted for 43.7% ($5.615.9 million USD) and grew 36%.

Products such as coffee stand out, whose exports in the 6 months grew 81.3%; flowers, 9.9%; bananas, 6.2%; Hass avocado, 27.6%; Tahiti lemon, 15.7%, and gulupa, 23.3%, among others. The second most representative group of products of exports of non-mining goods in the period was industry, which participated with 40.8% ($5.252 million USD) of this basket and a growth of 5%.

Exports of aluminum doors, windows, and their frames stood out, among others, with an increase of 9.5%; insecticides, 18.8%; electrical transformers, 12.9%; medicines, 9.3%; and beauty preparations, 3.7%. Products from the agribusiness sector, which accounted for 15.5% ($1.989.7 million USD) of the non-mining energy export basket, registered an increase in sales of 37%.

Products such as palm oil, whose exports grew 64.1%; coffee extracts and essences with an increase of 45.7%; sugar, 14.3%; cocoa and its derivatives, 87.3%, and bakery products, 8.7%, among others, boosted the sector’s performance.

90.4% of exports of non-mining energy products were made from nine Colombian regions: Antioquia, from where they grew 25.9%; Bogotá, which increased 16.5%; Cundinamarca, 16.5%; Valle del Cauca, 14.8%; Atlántico, 6.6%; Bolívar, 9%; Caldas, 47.3%; Magdalena, 45% and Huila.

The latter was the one that reported the highest increase, with 50%. Its non-mining foreign sales totaled $624.2 million USD in the first six months of the year, marked by coffee.

In June alone, the country exported $2.112.6 million USD in non-mining products, which represented an increase of 20.4%. In volume, 774,248 tons were shipped for an increase of 9.6%.

Avocados. Photo credit: JohnyVid from Pixabay.

Between January and March of this year, the country exported $6.140 million USD in these products (agro, agro-industrial, and industrial), a growth of 23.5% compared to the same period in 2024 when these sales reached $4.970.7 million USD.

They also increase in volume. In the first three months of this year, the country shipped 2.3 million tons to the world, which meant a growth of 6%, compared to the same period in 2024 when 2.2 million tons were shipped.

One of the strategies of the foreign trade policy of the Government of Change in which we work is to facilitate instruments and programs for the sophistication, diversification and promotion of the export basket, this through the assets of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, in such a way that the expansion of the national supply is guaranteed. Especially non-mining energy goods.

The analysis of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism indicates that, in the first quarter of this year, although industrial goods – including agro-industrial goods – accounted for more than half (54.5%) of this type of sales and grew 12.9%, it was agricultural products, which weigh 45.5%, that most boosted the behavior of non-mining exports. With a growth of 39.4%.

In this way, there were several products that helped to drive the growth of these sales. There are, for example: coffee, which registered double sales than a year ago and increased 100.8%; coffee extracts with 47.6%; palm oil, 29.3%; insecticides 22.1%; polypropylene, 21.3%; beauty preparations, 17.9%; various fruits, 17.7%; polychloride, 14%; electrical transformers, 11.6%, and flowers 9%, among many other products.

The departments

The nine main product export departments, which represent 89.9% of this basket, registered growth, some more than others.

Among those that registered the highest growth, and that have the lowest participation, were Huila with a positive variation of 82.9%, marked by coffee. Caldas registered an increase of 65.6%, also driven by coffee and coffee extracts and essences, mainly.

Magdalena’s non-mining exports increased 35.8%, marked by vegetable oils. Antioquia, which is the second department with the highest participation, after Bogotá, reported an increase of 24.5%, led by coffee and flowers.

Finally, among the 10 main destinations for this class of products, those that increased the most were Canada with 72.6%, Germany, 64.6%, Venezuela, 37.3%, Belgium, 32.8%, and the United States, 29.4%.

Photo credit: MINCIT.

The value exported in the first four months of this year registered an increase of 23.5% compared to January-April of last year, when $6.851.5 million USD were exported. In volume, 3.3 million tons were shipped, which represented 9.8% more than a year ago.

The different entities attached to and linked to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism provide and make available to entrepreneurs instruments and programs to support them in the sophistication and diversification of the non-mining export basket, with goods of greater added value. Likewise, work is being done to expand the markets for these products.

According to the ministry’s analysis, within the non-mining basket between January and April, the sector that had the highest growth was agriculture, with 41.32% compared to a year ago. The amount exported reached $3.786.9 million USD.
Among the products that helped drive growth in the period are coffee, with an increase of 96.9%; gulupa, 39.3%; Hass avocado, 16.7%; flowers, 9.5%; Tahiti lemon, 8.6%; and bananas, 6.2%.

For its part, exports of industrial products totaled $3.399.3 million USD and grew 5.3% compared to the previous year. Exports included goods such as: perfumes and toilet waters, which grew 18.4%; insecticides, 16.1%; electrical transformers, 13.4%; beauty preparations, 7.8%; plastics and their manufactures, 7.1%, and doors, windows, and their frames, 3.2%.

In agribusiness, foreign sales reached $1.277.2 million USD for an increase of 35.6%. Among the products of this sector that contributed to the result of the non-mining basket with their exports are, among others: cocoa and its preparations with an increase of 114.5%; palm oil, 67.6%; beverages, including water and alcoholic beverages, 47.9%; coffee extracts and essences, 39.1%; bakery and pastry products, 14.5%, and sugar, 7.4%.

By region

The main 10 departments from which non-mining goods are shipped to the world, which, due to their participation in this basket, represented 93.2%, and within these, the one that registered the highest growth in these foreign sales in the period of analysis was Huila with a variation of 83.8%. This region accounts for 5.4% of these exports.

It was followed by Caldas, whose non-mining foreign sales increased 53.9%. This department has a share in this group of 5.4%.

The third-highest growth of this top 10 is in Magdalena with a variation of 48.6%, which represents 4.7% of the country’s non-mining energy basket.

It was followed by Antioquia with an increase of 26.4%. This, together with Bogotá (whose exports grew 17.8%), is the main origin of non-mining foreign sales. In the period of analysis, these regions accounted for 19.3% each.

Photo credit: MINCIT.

One of the objectives of the government’s Foreign Trade Policy is to promote the development and export of products from the industrial, agro-industrial, and agricultural sectors, moving toward a decarbonized, inclusive, sustainable, and knowledge-based economy.

Of the sectors that make up the non-mining sectors, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MinCIT) the one that registered the greatest growth in its exports was agriculture, which, although it represents 46.6% of this basket, registered an increase of 43.8% in its foreign sales.

In this segment, products such as beef stood out for their sales abroad, which increased 223.4%; coffee, 108.6%; flowers, 15.4%; and Tahiti lemon, 6.1%, among others. On the side of industrial products, a group that also includes agro-industrial products, exports increased 11.7%, and their participation in this non-mining basket was 53.3%.

Products such as palm oil, with an increase of 35.8%; electrical transformers, 22.9%; beauty preparations, 18.8%; doors, windows and their frames, 15.7%; plastics and their manufactures, 10.3%; refrigerators 8% and chocolates, candies and candies with an increase of 3.2%.

On the other hand, of the 10 main departments that export non-mining energy goods and accounted for 93.5% of those sales in the month, 9 registered growth.

These were: Antioquia, 30.4%; Bogotá, 14.9%; Atlántico, 10.6%; Valle del Cauca, 16.8%; Cundinamarca, 16.5%; Bolívar, 22.3%; Caldas, 109.7%; Huila, 67.8%, and Magdalena, 12.9%.

Photo credit: MinCIT.

Several products contributed to this uptick. In the industrial sector, electric transformers saw a 61.5% increase in exports. Insecticides experienced a 7.1% rise, beauty preparations grew by 17.6%, and chloride polymer exports went up by 9.1%. Agricultural products also played a significant role. Coffee exports increased by 18.4%, flowers by 9.9%, and bananas by 30.4%. Additionally, exports of pineapples, avocados, guavas, and mangos collectively grew by 46.3%.

Regionally, eight of the top ten non-mining export areas reported positive results. Bogotá’s exports increased by 10.3%, Antioquia by 6.9%, Cundinamarca by 9.8%, Bolívar by 7.8%, Caldas by 6.4%, Huila by 33.4%, Risaralda by 50.6%, and Magdalena by 12.9%.

The Ministry attributes these gains to government policies aimed at diversifying and enhancing the value of Colombia’s export offerings. Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Luis Carlos Reyes Hernández, stated that the focus is on positioning Colombian products with added value in various markets, emphasizing the promotion of exports.

These figures underscore Colombia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its non-mining export sectors and reduce reliance on traditional commodities.

Headline Image: Coffee from Colombia. Photo credit: Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism (MinCIT)

This means that $722.9 million USD were exported to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. In volume, 289,791.7 tons were sold to these countries, an increase of 3.1%.

Compared to the same month in 2021, this meant an increase of 11%, and in relation to September 2019, the growth was 27.8%.

Of the total goods sold by the country to this region in September, with which the government of President Gustavo Petro seeks to strengthen economic and trade integration, almost half (44.5%) were non-mining energy goods.

Plastics, vehicles for passenger transportation, palm oil, medicines, candies and sweets, soaps, soluble coffee, beauty preparations, paper and cardboard, among others, are the main products exported to this part of the world.

“We advocate for a joint agenda in economic and commercial matters, but above all in productive complementation, border integration and so many other things in the region. It is necessary to return to having common objectives within a framework of internationalization with a human face and to continue strengthening the CAN and mechanisms such as the Pacific Alliance,” said the Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña Mendoza.

In the first nine months of this year, the 16 countries mentioned above received $6,225.6 million USD in non-mining and energy goods from Colombia, which translates into an increase of 19.7% compared to the same period in 2021 ($5,202.9 million USD) and 29% compared to January-September 2019 ($4,823.1 million USD).

Between January-September, Colombia exported $6.2 billion USD in non-mining goods to 16 Latin American countries. In the first 9 months of the year, global foreign sales of non-mining energy goods totaled $16.5 billion USD.

In volume, this represented 2.5 million tons for a 3% growth compared to a year ago.

Venezuela

It should be noted that Venezuela has been increasing its share receiving Colombia’s non-mining energy exports. From representing 1.6% of this type of sales a year ago and occupying 17th place in this ranking, today it represents 2.7% of these exports and occupies 7th place.

Between January and September of this year, exports of non-mining goods to Venezuela reached $438 million USD for a growth of 108.4% compared to the same period of 2021, when it represented “only” $210,4 million USD.

Among the goods most exported to Venezuela are sweets, plastics, fertilizers, palm and soybean oils, margarines, laminated products, bakery products, compresses and electric accumulators.

Non-mining energy goods

As for non-mining energy goods exports to the world, in September alone, Colombia sold $1.831 billion USD in this type of product, which is their highest value exported in a September. It represents a growth of 19% compared to the same month of 2021 and 48.9% compared to the ninth month of 2019, a year before the covid-19 pandemic.

Exports in September were driven by industrial products, Ministry of Commerce classification, which accounted for 62.6% of the non-mining market basket in September and grew 13.5% compared to the same month of 2021.

In this group, some products stand out for their growth such as doors, windows and their frames (266.6%); vehicles for passenger transportation (116.8%); coffee extracts and concentrates (73.5%); cane or beet sugar (32.4%); other hair preparations (16.1%) and chocolates, confectionery and candies (15.3%), among others.

In this same month, exports of primary products to the world, according to the classification of the Trade portfolio, represented 37.3% of non-mining exports and grew 30% when compared to the same period of 2021.

Among these products, we can highlight the growth of unroasted coffee, whose exports grew 26.3%. In addition, bananas and plantains increased 47.9%; flowers (28.6%); frozen beef (14.4%); Hass avocado (53.6%); tilapia fillets (147.9%) and Tahiti lime (61.3%), among others.

“In the government of President Gustavo Petro we work to strengthen the domestic market, exports, to replace imports and to generate income that allows the reduction of inequality. In this purpose, it is essential to promote the creation of small and medium-sized companies to create more exportable supply and integrate them into international value chains,” said the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña Mendoza.

The main destination for exports of non-mining energy goods in September was the United States, which accounted for 29.8% of these sales. Exports to that market totaled $545.3 million USD, an increase of 35% compared to the same month last year. The second most important market for these exports was Ecuador, which accounted for 8.4%. They totaled $153.1 million USD, an increase of 1% compared to September 2021. The third most important destination was Brazil, which accounted for 6.1% of these exports. In September they reached $111.2 million USD, an increase of 28%.

Between January and September of this year, Colombia’s exports of non-mining and energy goods reached $16.48 billion USD and represented 37.6% of total domestic sales abroad.  This is the highest amount exported for this period in history. They increased 26.2% compared to the same period in 2021 and 43.3% compared to January-September 2019, the year prior to the pandemic generated by covid.

It is also interesting to note that Colombia’s total exports to the United States were $11.4 billion USD in the first nine months of the year, compared to $901.82 million USD for Canada, $5.7 billion USD for the European Union and $481.26 million USD for the United Kingdom.

Above photo: Port of Cartagena (photo © Loren Moss)