That dollar amount reflects a 59.6% acceleration compared to the $31.05 billion in Colombian exports for five years earlier in 2020.
Year over year, revenues collected for Colombia’s exports in 2024 flatlined via a tepid 0.02% gain from $49.5 billion during 2023.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2024, the Colombian peso appreciated by 5.9% against the US dollar from 2023 to 2024. Colombia’s stronger local currency makes its exports paid for in weaker US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers starting from American money.
Colombia’s Most Valuable Trade Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 72.8% of products exported from Colombia was bought by importers in: United States of America (30.2% of Colombia’s total), Panama (8.7%), India (5.4%), mainland China (4.8%), Mexico (3.95%), Brazil (3.89%), Ecuador (3.88%), Netherlands (3.1%), South Korea (2.38%), Peru (2.36%), Chile (2.1%) and Venezuela (2%).
From a continental perspective, 36.1% of Colombia’s exports by value was delivered to countries in North America while 30.6% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Colombia shipped another 19.5% worth of goods to buyers in Asia.
Smaller percentages went to customers in Europe (12.5%), Africa (1%) then Oceania (0.3%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Colombia’s population of 52.7 million people, its total $49.6 billion in 2024 exports translates to about $950 for every resident in the South American sovereign state. That dollar metric lags the average $940 per person one year earlier during 2023.
Colombia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Colombian global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Colombia.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$22.5 billion (45.3% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $4.3 billion (8.7%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $3.6 billion (7.2%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $2.4 billion (4.8%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.8 billion (3.7%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $1.7 billion (3.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $1 billion (2%)
- Aluminum: $826.9 million (1.7%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: $781.2 million (1.6%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $715.2 million (1.4%)
Colombia’s top 10 export product categories generated almost four-fifths (79.8%) of the overall value of total Colombian shipments.
Fruits and nuts represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 34.9% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was electrical machinery and equipment via a 27.6% advance.
Colombia’s shipments of coffee, tea and spices posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 21.6%.
The leading decliner among Colombia’s top 10 export categories was mineral fuels including oil, dragged down by a -10.3% year-over-year drop.
At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Colombia’s most valuable exported goods are crude oil (24.3% of Colombia’s global total), coal plus solid fuels made from coal (12.1%), unwrought gold (8.3%), coffee (7.2%), refined petroleum oils (5.5%), fresh or dried flowers (4.7%), bananas and plantains (2.5%), coke and semi-coke (2.2%), bridge structures and parts (1.2%), then iron ferroalloys (1.1%).
Those major exported commodities accounted for 69.2% of overall Colombian revenues from export sales.d q
Products Generating Colombia’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Colombian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$16.3 billion (Down by -12.2% since 2023)
- Gems, precious metals: $4.2 billion (Up by 19.1%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $3.4 billion (Up by 29%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $2.3 billion (Up by 13.4%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.5 billion (Up by 38.5%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $435.7 million (Down by -10%)
- Aluminum: $299.3 million (Down by -8.8%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $216.8 million (Down by -37%)
- Cocoa: $181.4 million (Up by 197.6%)
- Live animals: $177.2 million (Down by -17.7%)
Colombia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of mineral fuels-related exports, historically crude oil and coal. In turn, these cashflows indicate Colombia’s strong competitive advantages under the oil product category.
Products Causing Colombia’s Worst Trade Deficits
Colombia incurred an overall -US$14.6 billion trade deficit during 2024, expanding by 9.8% from the -$13.3 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.
Below are exports from Colombia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Colombia’s goods trail Colombian importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$6.4 billion (Up by 9.2% since 2023)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$5.2 billion (Down by -1.3%)
- Vehicles: -$4.5 billion (Up by 6.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$3.5 billion (Up by 7.3%)
- Cereals: -$2.4 billion (Down by -12.5%)
- Organic chemicals: -$2.1 billion (Up by 3.3%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$1.8 billion (Down by -0.3%)
- Iron, steel: -$1.32 billion (Up by 32.3%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.3 billion (Up by 18.1%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: -$1.24 billion (Down by -12.6%)
Colombia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for machinery including computers and electrical machinery including consumer electronics.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Colombia’s competitive disadvantages under the machinery-related product categories but also represent key opportunities for Colombia to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations.
Colombian Export Companies
Six Colombian corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major Colombian companies that Forbes included.
- Ecopetrol (fuel, petrochemicals)
- Grupo Argos (construction materials)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Colombia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Alpina Productos Alimenticios (dairy products)
- Auteco (vehicles)
- Manuelita (sugar, fruits, vegetables)
- Organizacion Corona (ceramics)
- Ospina Coffee Company (coffee)
In macroeconomic terms, Colombia’s total exported goods represent 4.4% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($1.13 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4.4% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 4.9% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Colombia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Colombia’s unemployment rate averaged 10.2% for 2024, up from an average 10.158% in 2023 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Colombia’s capital city is Bogotá.
See also Colombia’s Top Trading Partners, Colombia’s Top 10 Imports, Peru’s Top Trading Partners, China’s Top Trading Partners and Top US Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Trade CentreCountry Profiles. Accessed on March 24, 2025
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on March 24, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 24, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 24, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 24, 2025
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Exchange Rates data (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, 2000-2024). Accessed on March 24, 2025
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 24, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Colombia. Accessed on March 24, 2025
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 24, 2025
X-rates.com, Exchange Rates: New Taiwan Dollar to US Dollar (monthly average 2024). Accessed on March 24, 2025