Colombian construction material exports will grow 5% in 4 years – Industry Trend

ProColombia projects that the country will be a leader in the region in the external sales of this type of products.

In the next few years, Colombia will become the region’s leader in exports of construction materials.

This was stated by the vice president of exports of ProColombia, Juliana Villegas Restrepo, who projects that there will be an increase in external sales of 5% on average from 2019 to 2022.

Villegas, who participates in the first day of the XXIII Expocamacol International Fair held in Medellín, explained that the United States is the main market for Colombian products with 40% of exports, followed by Ecuador (13%), Panama ( 9%) and Peru (4%).

According to figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), in 2017 the country exported more than 324 million dollars in materials for construction and during the first half of this year the figure reached 168 million dollars, which represents a growth of 10%.

“We are all very optimistic to see this growth and the message is that we can not lower our guard,” added the executive, who said that in order to consolidate Colombia as a pioneer, resources such as free trade agreements should continue to be used.

In this sense Villegas said that Colombian businessmen can “access without duty” to close to 1,500 million inhabitants of more than 60 countries, thanks to 16 trade agreements signed by Colombia.

However, he stated that entrepreneurs should be encouraged to export more, since the entity has identified business opportunities in “about 32 countries” and “markets are being wasted” in the Caribbean, Costa Rica and the Pacific Alliance, made up of Peru, Mexico and Chile, as well as Colombia.

Villegas added that with events like Expocamacol, attended by more than 400 companies from some 26 countries, the entity promotes the entire productive chain of the construction sector, which represents 7.5% of Colombia’s gross domestic product and generates more of one million jobs. “This is a key commercial platform,” Villegas called the event, in which 1,140 appointments will be made between 239 international buyers and 95 local companies during two business rounds.

Expocamacol will be held until next Saturday in Medellín and during its four days the organizers hope to realize business for more than 250 million dollars with businessmen from Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal and Spain, among others.