Colombia: Merchandise export growth picks up in March
Merchandise exports expanded 46.8% year-on-year in March, accelerating from February’s 43.0% increase. Looking at the details of the release, March’s pickup was due to a sharp acceleration of growth in fuel shipments—the country’s key export—which more than offset after export growth of agricultural and manufacturing goods.
Merchandise imports, meanwhile, grew 41.4% in March, easing from February’s 44.9% expansion, and marking the softest increase in eight months. Consequently, the merchandise trade deficit narrowed to USD 1.1 billion in March from the USD 1.2 billion shortfall recorded in March 2021. Accordingly, the trend deteriorated, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance coming in at a USD 16.2 billion deficit in March (February: USD 16.3 billion shortfall).