Department Experiences Double-Digit Growth in First Half of the Year.
Risaralda’s exports continue to show positive results. According to the latest data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), the department’s international sales increased by 33.8% in June, resulting in an increase of 16.7 million FOB dollars. This follows a rise of 49.4 million FOB dollars in 2023 to 66.2 million FOB dollars in 2024.
While exports grew significantly in January and May this year, by June 2024, none of the main products in the region’s export basket experienced reductions of more than one million dollars.
Main Products
Avocados stand out among tariff items, with an increase of 6.7 million FOB dollars to 9.7 million dollars FOB. Coffee beans also saw a significant recovery, rising from 8 million dollars FOB in 2023 to 14.6 million dollars FOB in 2024.
Additionally, copper scrap and waste increased by US$3.1 million FOB, while electrical transformers, key export products, grew by US$1.6 million FOB.
First Semester
Risaralda’s total exports during the first half of 2024 reached US$410.3 million, a remarkable 55.4% increase from US$264 million in the first half of 2023. This represents an increase of US$146.3 million and marks a historic record for the department’s international sales in the first half of the year.
Three tariff items account for over 90% of this growth. Electrical transformers lead the group with an increase of 55.5 million dollars, accounting for 24.8% of exports in the first half of the year.
Motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more people experienced the second-largest growth, with an additional 50.8 million dollars, becoming the second-largest item in terms of share, totaling 84.5 million dollars and representing 20.6% of exports in the first half of the year.
The coffee item also saw an increase of 31.2 million dollars, reaching 61.9 million dollars in the consolidated figure for the first six months of the year.
Main Countries
The United States recorded the largest growth, with an increase of 63.5 million dollars FOB, driven by shipments of electrical transformers. Mexico followed closely behind, with an increase of 52.1 million dollars FOB, thanks to exports of motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more people.
National Decline Continues
The National Association of Foreign Trade (ANALDEX) expressed concern over the figures presented for June 2024, which saw a 5% decline in exports, primarily due to lower sales abroad of fuels and the mining sector. The decline for the first half of the year stands at close to 3%.
“I believe this warrants a renewed call to the Government to take measures to reactivate the economy,” said Javier Díaz, president of ANALDEX.