International Allies
Bogotá, July 2023
1. GUEST COLUMNIST
ITC Tools Created for SMEs
The International Trade Center (ITC) is an agency created by UNCTAD and GATT in 1964. Initially, ITC's mission was to support exporters in developing countries through information on international trade statistics and business intelligence strategies working jointly with export support institutions. Today, sixty years later, ITC has expanded its scope of action. Today it is also dedicated to implementing cooperation projects to connect SMEs to global value chains while maintaining business information tools. ITC's online platforms promote transparency in global trade and provide information to access international markets. As such, commercial actors identify export and import opportunities; they compare access conditions and make informed business decisions
Our market analysis platforms are based on global trade statistics and include detailed information on tariffs and rules of origin linked to free trade agreements. Additionally, they analyze the export potential of one country to another, provide information on market prices, and provide data on regional trade and investment. Governments, companies, and academia in developing countries have free access to our tools (some of them in Spanish):
Trade Map – Trade statistics for international business developments: The Crown Jewel provides trade information for 220 countries and territories and 5,300 Harmonized System products. It has import and export statistics for countries, groups of countries and tariff subheadings, and even a directory of companies to carry out trade operations.
Market Access Map (macmap.org): Provides country and product market access requirements at the six-digit level of the harmonized system and access conditions. Allows you to compare advantages and disadvantages against other providers.
Procurement Map - Home (intracen.org): provides information on international tenders and awarded contracts (unavailable in Spanish).
Rules of Origin Facilitator (findrulesoforigin.org): Showcases rules of origin to benefit from tariff preferences. Provides information on more than 350 trade agreements from 190 countries. This tool was specifically designed for SMEs.
Global Trade Helpdesk: Provides information on imports, market dynamics, tariffs, regulatory aspects, and potential buyers. This tool was enriched with information on electronic commerce for SMEs.
Export Potential Map (intracen.org): It allows to identify the export space in a market for the products currently exported.
ITC offers multiple tools to access global trade. Explore them, use them. They’re free!
Claudia Uribe Chief of the International Trade Centre´s Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
2. GOOD NEWS ABOUT COLOMBIA AND BOGOTÁ-REGION
GOOD NEWS ABOUT COLOMBIA
• Colombia was elected to chair the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The 32 member states unanimously decided the designation of our country in the Pro Tempore Presidency for 2025 at the CELAC Foreign Ministers Meeting on July 7. This will be an opportunity for Colombia to lead the integration process in the region and strengthen relations with other regional blocs and world powers. In addition, during the Fifth Summit of CELAC and the European Union, President Gustavo Petro announced the work axes, prioritizing a proposal to achieve a decarbonized economy. For more information, see the following link.
• Colombiamoda + Colombiatex 2023 ended with complete success. The 34th edition of Colombiamoda + Colombiatex, the most important event of the fashion industry in Colombia, was the connection platform that brought together 70,000 attendees (16% more than in 2022) and more than 500 exhibitors and exponents from Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, Turkey, and Italy, who generated sales of approximately 12 million dollars. For more information, see the following link
• The governments of Colombia and Japan created a Joint Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Industry, and Tourism. Within the framework of this mechanism, the two countries will be able to exchange information to improve the business climate and promote trade diversification, using complementary advantages for industrial strengthening. The signed agreement also seeks to promote sustainable investment in productive sectors that contribute to technological transformation and generate value-added products and services to promote inclusion in value chains. For more information, see the following link.
• The first edition of Expoartesano, developed outside the country, ended with great success. Expoartesano, the fair for artisan products from the country's regions, doubled the number of expected visitors at its first out-ofcountry event, which took place in Miami, United States. In total, the fair was attended by more than 3,100 participants, closing with sales of more than 51 thousand dollars. For more information, see the following link.
GOOD NEWS ABOUT BOGOTÁ-REGIÓN
• The Bogotá Mayor's Office and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) announce an agreement to inject resources into the Bogotá Metro project With the signing of this agreement, Bogotá will obtain a loan for 255 million dollars to finance the second line of the Metro, which will benefit more than 2.5 million users. For more information, see the following link
• The 24th version of Agroexpo in Bogotá ends successfully. With over 600 exhibitors, more than 3,000 animals standing, 200,000 visitors, more than 250 spaces between conferences, conversations, and meetings, and a business conference that left business expectations for 2 million dollars, with 637 appointments accomplished, signifies this was the best edition in Agroexpo´s history Additionally, it counted with the participation of exhibitors from countries such as Italy, Brazil, China, the United States, India, Turkey, and Venezuela. For more information, see the following link
• From August 16 to 18, the ESS+ International Security Fair will be held in Corferias. This important Fair brings together leading companies specialized in cutting-edge security technologies and solutions for the region's fastest-growing markets. The 300 exhibitors from 20 countries will present solutions for protecting critical infrastructures, citizen security, and corporate security for all sectors of the economy. It is expected to have the participation of more than 15,000 professional security assistants from the Andean Region, who, in real-time, will be able to interact with the solutions, gather knowledge of new developments, interact with industry leaders and experts, make business appointments, and drive investment in security. For more information, see the following link
3. BOGOTÁ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS
• The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce is developing the Great Entrepreneurship Survey 2023. We are carrying out the third application of the Great Entrepreneurship Survey in Bogotá and 59 municipalities under the organization's jurisdiction to have updated information on the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the business community, structure support programs, contribute to improving productivity, and better understand the entrepreneur of the city and the municipalities of the jurisdiction. This survey is aimed at companies, citizens, and informal. The Great Survey on Entrepreneurship 2023 will be carried out between June and August in a multimodal way (in person, by telephone, or virtual) and will take approximately 20 minutes. Your answers will be strictly confidential and used for statistical purposes. Likewise, you can consult the personal data protection policy of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce on the page www.ccb.org.co/proteccionde-datos-personales. For any questions, you can contact John Wilson Buitrago Acosta by email at john.buitrago@ccb.org.co, phone at 6015941000 extension 2746, or Angélica Maria Molano Nieto angelicamolano@proyectamoscolombia.com, phone 3015935217.
• In collaboration with the Vice Presidency of the Republic, the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce celebrated the International Day of Afro-descendant Women on July 25. During an event titled “Meeting of International AfroColombian Women 'Weaving from the Root,’ the CCB and the Vice Presidency recognized the contributions of Afro-Colombian women and formally petitioned the UN for July 25 to be officially recognized as International Day of Afro-descendant Women. For more information, see the following link
• The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce presents its MSMEs with the tools that the International Trade Center - ITC offers for their internationalization. Within the framework of Mrs. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, the ITC Executive Director´s visit to Colombia, the CCB held the event "The Role of International Trade as a Promoter of Development,” which had the objective of presenting ITC activities and services to promote the participation of Colombian companies in international markets and consolidate trade as the engine of economic development. In addition, sessions were held to support women entrepreneurs and promote the development of international trade in other regions of the country. For more information, see the following link
• The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce offers businessmen and women the business opportunities that Paraguay offers in the food sector. Hand in hand with the Paraguayan-Colombian Chamber of Commerce (CAPACOL) and the two countries’ Embassies, on July 25, the Webinar "Paraguay-Colombian Business Opportunities for the food sector" was held. For more information, see the following link.
• We will hold the Inclusion, Diversity, and Productivity Fair on Saturday, August 12. This initiative is part of the CCB's commitment to promoting the generation of shared value and incorporating sustainability, promoting the solution of social needs and environmental challenges through business strategies. For more information, see the following link
4.
4.1. GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP)
In the first quarter of 2023, Colombia's GDP grew 3.0% compared to the same period of the previous year. The latter signifies a growth of 5.2 percentage points below the first quarter of 2022, in which the country grew 8,2%; however, there was a 0.9 percentage points growth compared with the fourth quarter of 2022. The national growth rate slowed down compared to the first half of 2022. The economic activities with the highest participation in gross value added in the first quarter of 2023 were wholesale and retail trade, public administration, and defense and manufacturing industries, with a participation of 20.64%, 14.5%, and 12.56%, respectively.
Source: DANE-SDDE
As for Bogotá, a slowdown in GDP growth is also observed. The annual growth of the first quarter of 2023 was 3.1%, lower than the 11.1% registered in the same period of the previous year. Despite the slowdown, Bogotá shows a performance slightly above the national average and a change in growth trend compared to the last semester of
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Graph 1. Annual growth rate, by quarter, of GDP between 2019 and 2023 Colombia and Bogotá
2022, where the economy presented an annual variation of 2.1%, which suggests a certain resilience in the Capital´s economy.
4.2 INFLATION
In June 2023, Colombia and Bogotá experienced a decrease in the monthly price variation compared to the same month of the previous year. In June 2022, the monthly variation in Colombia was 0.51% and in Bogotá 0.56%, while in June 2023, it fell to 0.3% and 0.24%, respectively. This decrease indicates less inflationary pressure in the Colombian economy.
The year-to-year variation in Bogotá has exceeded that of Colombia in the same period. As of June 2023, the yearto-year variation in Bogotá was 6.42%, while Colombia’s was 6.15%. This indicates that the capital has experienced inflationary behavior slightly higher than the national average during that time.
For its part, the annual price variation, although higher than in the same month of the previous year, continues to decrease compared to the beginning of the year. In June 2023, the annual price variation in Colombia was 12.13%, while that of Bogota was 11.94%.
4.3. BUSINESS DYNAMICS
In June 2023, data shows an increase in the number of active companies in the jurisdiction of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce compared to previous years. An overall growth of 1.6% is observed in the total number of active companies for June 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This represents an increase of 6,629 companies in one year.
When analyzing the participation of companies by legal order in June 2023, most of the registered companies belong to Physical Persons, with 234,422 companies representing 55.73% of the total number of active companies. On the other hand, companies under Legal Person reach a total of 186,230, which represents 44.27% of the total number of active companies in the same jurisdiction
When analyzing the participation of companies by size in June 2023, Microenterprises represent the majority of the business fabric, with a total of 386,040 companies, which is equivalent to around 91.77% of the total number of active companies in the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogotá; Small Businesses constitute 5.69% of the total, with a record of 23,942 companies. On the other hand, Medium Companies represent 1.73%, with 7,257 companies, while Large Companies make up 0.81% of the total, with a record of 3,413 companies.
4.4
Employment has shown an improvement compared to the previous year. At the national level, the unemployment rate in May 2023 was 10.5%, 0.17 percentage points (p.p.) lower than in May 2022. Likewise, the employment rate has risen 0.18pp in the last year, reaching 57.2% by May 2023. The global participation rate increased by 0.08pp, from 63.8% in May 2022 to 64.9% in May 2023. This is a good indicator of the improvement in the labor market. Even though more people are participating in the labor market, in May 2023, unemployment continued to be lower than in the same month of the previous year.
In Bogotá and its metropolitan area, the unemployment rate was 10.8% for the rolling quarter Mar 23-May 23, slightly higher than the 10.4% of the national total for the same period. The capital shows an occupancy rate of
61.2% for the same quarter, 3.6pp above the national occupancy for the same quarter. The data shows that more working-age people are participating in the labor market in the capital (68.6%) than in the country (64.3%).
Regarding labor market figures differentiated by sex, in May 2023, the unemployment rate gap between men and women was 4.9pp, 0.37pp less than in the same month of 2022. However, although the unemployment in women remains very high, with an unemployment rate of 13.2%, unemployment in women fell 0.43pp from May 2022 to May 2023.
5.
EXPORTS
In May 2023, a negative annual variation was registered in Colombian exports, with a slight decrease of -0.47% compared to the same month of the previous year. In April 2023, exports also decreased by -31.53%, which suggests a setback in foreign sales, which may be influenced by temporary factors such as unfavorable commercial conditions and market access, reported since February’s negative annual growth figures.
In the specific case of Bogotá, exports also experienced a decrease in May 2023, with a negative annual variation of -0.78%. This figure represents a continuation of the downward trend evidenced in previous months at the national level. On the other hand, Cundinamarca showed a different behavior in May 2023, with a significant increase of 10.58% in exports compared to the same month of the previous year. It is important to mention that, in the last months, Bogotá and Cundinamarca faced difficulties in their exports, with negative annual variations that affected their performance in the international market. However, in May 2023, Cundinamarca managed to reverse this trend and achieve growth in its sales abroad.
FOREIGN TRADE
Graph 2. Annual variation of Colombian exports in Bogotá and Cundinamarca 2021-2023
Source: DANE, Foreign Trade
In May 2023, total exports from Colombia reached $4,531.18 million dollars FOB, showing a slight decrease of0.47% compared to the same month of the previous year. In the case of Bogotá, its exports for May 2023 reached $359.54 million dollars FOB, with a negative annual variation of -0.78%. This figure indicates a slight slowdown in the city's exports, representing a challenge to its competitiveness. On the other hand, the growth reported in Cundinamarca's exports during the same period places its sales abroad at $242.64 million FOB dollars. The participation of Bogotá and Cundinamarca in exports for May 2023 was 13.29%.
In May 2023, the Bogotá-Cundinamarca Region registered total exports for $602.18 million FOB dollars, highlighting the relevance of exports for the region's economy and their contribution to international trade. The leading destination of exports from the Bogotá-Cundinamarca region is the United States, which received $239.94 million dollars FOB in exported goods and services in May 2023. This represents approximately 39.85% of all exports.
In addition to the United States, other countries also received significant volumes of exports from the BogotáCundinamarca region in May 2023. Among them are Ecuador with $57.98 million dollars FOB (9.63% share), Peru with $29 .97 million dollars FOB (4.98% share), Mexico with $27.28 million dollars FOB (4.53% share), and Japan with $23.93 million dollars FOB (3.97% share).
IMPORTS
At the national level, imports reached $5,418.5 million dollars CIF, showing a decrease of -20.4% compared to May 2022. This figure represents a significant reduction in the country's purchases abroad, which could reflect a contraction in the national economy.
In the case of Bogotá, imports for May 2023 reached $2,845.5 million CIF dollars, with a negative annual variation of -22.1%. This means that the Colombian capital experienced a considerable drop in international purchases, which could be related to the general economic situation. Likewise, Cundinamarca also presented a decrease in its imports for the same period. In May 2023, its international purchases reached $436.2 million dollars CIF, with a negative annual variation of -21.8%, showing a reduction in the region's foreign goods and services purchases
Regarding the Bogotá-Cundinamarca Region, which includes the capital and the department, imports for May 2023 totaled $3,281.7 million CIF dollars. This figure represents a decrease of -22.0% compared to the same month of the previous year. The region maintains a relevant participation in the total imports of Colombia, being responsible for 60.56% of the total.
In May 2023, the Bogotá-Cundinamarca Region registered total imports worth $3,281.69 million dollars CIF, highlighting the importance of goods and services from abroad. The primary origin of imports from the BogotáCundinamarca region is the United States, which represents 24.63% of total imports, with a value of $808.13 million dollars CIF
Another prominent country of origin of imports in the region is China, with a value of $669.54 million dollars CIF, which is equivalent to a 20.40% share of total imports. For their part, Brazil, Mexico, and Germany are also important countries in the supply of imports for the Bogotá-Cundinamarca region. Brazil represents 6.71% of total imports with $220.12 million dollars CIF, while Mexico and Germany have shares of 6.02% and 4.29% respectively, with values of $197.54 million dollars CIF and $140.64 million dollars CIF
6. FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
According to the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stood at US $ 4,801 million in the accumulated total for the year to May 2023. This represents an increase of 19.6% over the same period (January-May) of the previous year.
On the other hand, investment in the oil and mining sector stood at US $3,935 million in the January-May 2023 period, an increase of 50.3% compared to the same period in 2022. As for sectors other than oil and mining, FDI amounted to US$866 million in the accumulated to May, presenting a reduction of 37.9% compared to the same period of 2022. In total, FDI in the mining and energy sector represented 82% of the investment received so far this year.
Graph 3. Imports from Colombia, Bogotá, and Cundinamarca (May 2022 – 2023) Source: DANE, Imports7. SOURCES
• For more information, refer to the Observatory of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce. https://www.ccb.org.co/observatorio
• DANE. Cuentas Nacionales. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/cuentas-nacionales/cuentas-nacionales-trimestrales
• DANE. Mercado Laboral. Información recuperada de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/mercado-laboral/empleo-y-desempleo
• Registro Mercantil, CCB, 2019 - 2020 – 2021 - 2022. Recuperado de: https://www.ccb.org.co/Inscripciones-yrenovaciones/Matricula-Mercantil/Boletines-del-Registro-Mercantil/Boletines-ano-2021
• DANE. Encuesta Pulso Social. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/encuesta-pulso-social
• DANE, Exportaciones. Febrero abril. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-portema/comercio-internacional/exportaciones
• DANE, Comercio internacional importaciones abril 2023. Recuperado de: https://www.dane.gov.co/index.php/estadisticas-por-tema/comercio-internacional/importaciones
Graph 4. Foreign Direct Investment. January-May (2015-2023)
Source: Central Bank-Exchange balance in the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Tourism. May 2023.
• Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo. Informes de Inversión Extranjera Directa. Recuperado de: https://www.mincit.gov.co/estudios-economicos/estadisticas-e-informes/informes-de-inversion-extranjera
• Observatorio de Desarrollo Económico de Bogotá. Recuperado de: https://observatorio.desarrolloeconomico.gov.co/expectativas/indice-de-confianza-industrial-vuelve-terrenopositivo