Colombia's exports fell 4.1 percent in July 2025 due to lower fuel sales.

In July 2025, Colombian exports totaled $4.4299 billion, representing a 4.1 percent decrease compared to the same month in 2024, according to figures from the National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN) and the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).

The decline was mainly explained by a 25.6 percent drop in sales of fuels and extractive industry products, particularly coal, coke and briquettes (-45.8 percent) and petroleum and its derivatives (-17.1 percent).

According to the DANE report, in terms of product groups, fuels and extractives sold $1.732 billion in the seventh month of the year, representing a 39.1 percent share and a 25.6 percent decline, representing the group with the greatest negative impact.

In the case of the agricultural, food, and beverages group, sales closed the month at $1.2496 billion, a 31.8 percent increase explained by strong growth in unroasted coffee (70.0 percent) and palm oil (166.6 percent). This group contributed 6.5 percentage points to the total increase.

In manufacturing, sales totaled $1.0536 billion, up 11.8 percent, driven by chemicals (21.7 percent) and machinery and transportation (10.5 percent). In other sectors, sales closed at $394.6 million, a slight drop of 1.6 percent, primarily due to a reduction in non-monetary gold exports.

For the year-to-date period through July 2025, exports reached $28.82 billion, representing a 0.6 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.

In the case of agricultural products, they grew by 35.8 percent, with coffee (80.7 percent) and palm oil (74.2 percent) standing out.

The manufacturing sector rose 5.3 percent, while fuels fell 19.8 percent, with declines in coal (-35.6 percent) and oil (-15.3 percent). Other sectors increased 14.7 percent, driven by a rally in non-monetary gold.

In July 2025, the United States consolidated its position as the main destination with 31.7 percent of total exports, followed by Panama (5.6 percent), Brazil (4.8 percent), India (4.2 percent), Canada (3.9 percent), the Netherlands (3.9 percent), and Ecuador (3.5 percent).

Exports to Panama and China together accounted for 6.5 percentage points of the total increase. In contrast, sales to Canada grew 378.2 percent, primarily due to non-monetary gold exports.

In the January-July period, the United States also led the way with 30.6 percent of the total, followed by Panama, the Netherlands, India, Brazil, Ecuador, and China. The increase was driven by the United States and the Netherlands, while lower sales to China dampened momentum.

According to María Claudia Lacouture, president of the Colombian-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Colombia), Colombia's exports to the world grew only 0.6 percent between January and July 2025.

"Sales to the United States grew 7.8 percent, with a jump of 16.9 percent in the non-mining and energy sector and 30.7 percent in the agricultural sector. The United States is consolidating its position as a key partner, and Colombia must act decisively to deepen this relationship, take advantage of its dynamism , and diversify its export offering in a market that continues to open strongly to our products," he noted.