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Photo Flickr / I am I.A.M.
This dynamism ratifies the decision that the two Governments have made, in respect to negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which has now become a reality, as of yesterday, August 15th, when the FTA between the two countries entered into force.
Colombia will now have preferential access to a market that imports 4.5% of the world total and ranks fifth, globally, in terms of its volume of trade. In addition to this, Canada is one of the top ten sources, worldwide, of foreign direct investment (FDI).
It is expected that with this Treaty, Colombian exports, which reached US$532.1 million in 2010, will show even greater dynamism in the coming years.
Even so, over the last five years, bilateral trade doubled, surpassing US$687 million in 2005, to reach over US$1.355 billion in 2010. Although the balance is in favor of the northern country, Colombia has registered an increasing tendency in its foreign sales.
Colombian exports to Canada grew from US$ 385.6 million in 2009, to US$ 532 million in 2010, which is a growth of 37.99%.
Between January and May of 2011, there was an increase in sales to the Canadian market, which was 0.7% over that of the same period in 2010, when the figure reached US$ 232.7 million.
The supply of exportable goods to Canada is concentrated mainly in traditional exports, such as coffee, petroleum, and petroleum derivatives, as well as flowers and other products of the light industries, such as textiles, apparel, and plastics.
Canadian imports to Colombia increased 21.97% in 2010, reaching US$ 823.4 million, when compared to the figure for 2009, which was US$ 675.1 million. This growing trend has continued for the period of January to May 2011, where imports reached US$ 349.2 million, over that of the same period in 2010, which reached US$ 323.1 million.
Colombian imports from Canada primarily include those of the agricultural sector, particularly wheat and barley, as well as goods of basic industries, such as metallurgy and paper. All together, these products account for about 88% of the total imports from Canada.
Moreover, by the close of 2010, Canadian investment in Colombia represented 13.5% of the total, excluding investment in the petroleum sector, reaching US$ 1.207 billion. These flows have been concentrated in the sectors of telecommunications and energy. Over the past few years, however, capital has also been arriving to the sectors of foods, mining, paper, footwear, education, and transport.
Tourism has also benefitted with the arrival of Canadian visitors. In 2008, the number of Canadians entering the country reached 27,606. In 2009, it rose to 28,157, and in 2010, it reached 32,884.
This year, as well, the figures have continued to grow: between January and June of 2011, the total number of visitors reached 20,788, growing 26.6% over the earlier figure of 16,425 visitors.
