In just one click, Colombian exporters will be able to access more than 4,800 national vehicles that operate in 25 departments and more than 1,200 routes, and cargo transporters will have the opportunity to offer their services to more than 2,500 export companies.

“We activated the digital platform on alianzas.colombiatrade.com.co in partnership with the Kargorú logistics marketplace to bring together the supply and demand of land transportation and drive the internationalization of Colombian companies even more,” stated Flavia Santoro, ProColombia´s president. Export companies have to complete the form available on this website and their request will be sent to the cargo transportation companies registered on the platform. Then, their replies with different quotes will be processed in less than 24 hours. The registration of this service is activated free of charge during the pandemic for both, exporters and transporters.

“The reopening of the economy is partly based on technology development and its proper adoption in businesses. This is why e-commerce is one of the investments we promote through ProColombia so that companies can access various markets. Now, with this logistical partnership, we want to facilitate technology solutions to expedite access to the transportation fleet in terms of competitive time, costs, and quality,” adds Flavia Santoro. 

As well as the partnership for road transportation, ProColombia’s Logistics Team will continue promoting courier partnerships (with discounts up to 70% on international deliveries of packages by airmail), a partnership with the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI, in Spanish) for railway operations, which have a preferential rate for exporters on the La Dorada – Santa Marta route, and constant monitoring of ports, airports, border crossings and logistics operators on a board that will soon be available in ProColombia’s COVID-19 section.

It is worth highlighting that the Colombian government has permitted foreign trade operations during the emergency, according to Decree 531/2020, due to its essential role, not only for the supply of essential products, but also to keep the country’s economy active.

According to this national guideline for foreign trade, in Colombia, transportation, storage and logistics are guaranteed for the import, export and customs transportation of merchandise under strict biosafety measures.

The economy’s dynamics from the beginning of the mandatory preventive isolation until now (April 27) have enabled the transportation of 27 million tons domestically on 557,633 trips, according to figures by the Ministry of Transport’s National Freight Dispatch Registry (RNDC, in Spanish).
 

Summary by mode of transportation

In partnership with government entities and the private sector, ProColombia has written weekly reports that show the operating status of the main logistics nodes (ports, airports, and border crossings), as well as the services that regularly operate in the various modes of transportation (air, land, and maritime), during the mandatory isolation and the Economic and Health State of Emergency. The information is obtained from reports of the sector’s professional associations, as well as directly from the logistics operators and government entities pertaining to the transportation sector.

Regarding land transportation, according to figures from the Ministry of Transport, a total of 69,802 cargo vehicles have traveled during the mandatory isolation period, mainly transporting food such as corn, rice, palm oil, sugarcane, and malt beer. Out of the total merchandise transported, 16.4% is for the mailing of packages, due to the increase in e-commerce as a channel for the sale of domestic and international goods.

Concerning railways, the ANI continues to promote the reactivation of rail transportation and has provided preferential rates for export operations along La Dorada – Santa Marta corridor.

According to figures from the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil, in Spanish), between March 25 and April 14, 23,302 tons of cargo were transported by air. Of these, 18,396 were on domestic flights. This volume has been possible due to commercial planes flying with essential cargo in their storage, without a cabin crew, or offering charter services with their planes for cargo transportation, due to the limited capacity of cargo planes.

More than 80 regular cargo flights remain in operation for trade, due to the activity of airlines such as: Avianca Cargo, DHL, Ethiopian Airlines, Iberia, Latam Cargo, and Qatar Airways. El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá and José María Córdova International Airport in Medellín have maintained their regular cargo operations.

Finally, the port areas of Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Marta, and Buenaventura have maintained their operations 24/7, ensuring the country has the continuity of the logistics services required for Colombian foreign trade. According to the figures of the Superintendence of Ports and Transport, Colombia’s ports have transported more than 15.4 million tons of cargo, of which 13.7 million were for export or import.