Colombia’s export basket is being remade before our eyes. In January, the country shipped $4.25 billion worth of goods abroad, a 12.6% increase over the same month last year, according to DANE, the national statistics agency. But the headline number disguises a deeper transformation: the biggest driver of growth was not oil or coal but gold, coffee, bananas, and palm oil.
The shift matters because Colombia spent decades as one of Latin America’s most petroleum-dependent exporters. That model is cracking, and the January data shows both the promise and the pain of what comes next.
What Grew and What Didn’t
The standout performer was the category DANE labels “other sectors,” which surged 108.4% to $686.6 million. That growth came almost entirely from non-monetary gold exports, which contributed 108.5 percentage points to the category’s variation. Record global gold prices, which topped $5,300 per ounce this week amid the Iran conflict, have made Colombia’s artisanal and industrial gold output increasingly lucrative.
Colombia Exports Rise 12.6% in January as Gold and Coffee Boom. (Photo Internet reproduction)
Agricultural goods were the second engine. Exports of food, beverages, and farm products reached $1.41 billion, up 23% year-on-year. Coffee led the way with a 34.3% increase, bananas surged 75.7%, and palm oil jumped 91.1%. Together, coffee and bananas alone contributed 20.8 percentage points to the agricultural sector’s growth. Colombia produced a record 1.93 million tonnes of palm oil in 2025 according to Fedepalma, and export volumes have continued climbing into 2026.
Oil Keeps Sliding
Petroleum and extractive products remain the single largest export category at 34.2% of the total, but their value fell 7.2% to $1.46 billion. The decline was driven by a 10.1% drop in petroleum and derivatives, which knocked 7 percentage points off the group’s performance. Colombia exported 13.7 million barrels of crude in January, actually 4.7% more than a year earlier, meaning the revenue decline reflects lower prices rather than lower output. Coal and coke bucked the trend with an 11.3% increase.
Manufacturing Slips
Manufacturing exports also contracted, falling 4.4% to $702.2 million. DANE attributed the decline to a 31% drop in manufactured goods classified by material, which subtracted 9 percentage points from the group’s result. The weakness in manufactures underscores a challenge facing Colombia’s diversification strategy: while agriculture and gold are booming, higher-value industrial exports have not yet found the same momentum.
The U.S. Connection
The United States consolidated its position as Colombia‘s dominant trading partner, absorbing 31.9% of all exports at $1.36 billion, a 17% increase. The growth was powered by gold shipments to the U.S., which rose 86.3%, and coffee, up 56.5%. Panama, India, Canada, Italy, Brazil, and Ecuador rounded out the top destinations.
The January figures reinforce a trend that accelerated throughout 2025, when total exports reached $50.2 billion but fossil fuel revenues dropped 17.9%. Analdex president Javier Diaz has called for Colombia to reach $60 billion in exports in 2026, arguing the country should be targeting $100 billion given its productive potential. Whether the gold and agricultural boom can sustain that ambition while oil revenues continue to erode will be the defining question for Colombian trade policy this year.
