Colombia Posts Largest Trade Deficit Since 2022

Colombia posted a trade deficit of $3.28 billion in July 2026, widening from a $2.05 billion gap a year earlier and marking the widest deficit in the historical series, which began in 1980. Imports totaled $7.97 billion, up 22.9% year over year. Manufacturing imports rose 16.1%, driven by higher purchases of machinery and transport equipment (24%) and chemicals and related products (11%). Imports of agriculture, food, and beverages increased 26.3%, mainly due to higher purchases of food products and live animals (27.2%). Imports of fuels and extractive industry products surged 77.3%, driven by a 79.6% increase in purchases of petroleum, petroleum products, and related products. Exports totaled $4.69 billion, up 5.9%, mainly due to a 51.6% increase in the other sectors group, driven by higher exports of non-monetary gold. Fuels and extractive industry products accounted for 40% of total exports and rose 8.3%.

Colombia’s trade deficit widened to $2.54 billion in June 2026, the largest deficit since August 2022, from $1.38 billion a year earlier. Imports surged 27% year-on-year to $6.78 billion, marking their fastest growth since 2022. The increase was driven by a 67.2% rise in purchases of fuels and extractive industry products, led by a 68.5% surge in petroleum and related products. Imports of manufactured goods also climbed 23.1%, supported by stronger purchases of machinery and transport equipment (33.6%) and chemical products (21.6%), while agricultural imports increased 23.4%. Meanwhile, exports rose at a slower 7% to $4.23 billion, supported by a 17.1% increase in shipments of fuels and extractive industry products, which accounted for 42.6% of total exports. Manufactured exports also increased 2.4%. In contrast, agricultural and food exports, which represented 25.8% of total shipments, fell 10.8%.

Colombia's trade deficit narrowed to $1.59 billion in May 2026 from $1.78 billion a year earlier. Exports rose 19.2% year-on-year to $5.19 billion, driven by a 33.3% increase in fuels and extractive industry products, led by petroleum and related goods. Agricultural exports edged up 0.7%, supported by higher shipments of cut flowers and coffee extracts, while manufactured exports increased 0.2%, driven by chemicals and machinery. Exports from other sectors surged 67.0%, mainly reflecting higher non-monetary gold shipments. Meanwhile, imports rose 10.6% to $6.79 billion, led by an 8.2% increase in manufactured goods, particularly machinery and transport equipment, as well as chemicals. Imports of agricultural products rose 2.7%, while purchases of fuels and extractive industry products climbed 35.2%.