Colombia posted a $484 million trade surplus in April, with imports rising 19.3% to $3.18 billion from the same month a year ago.
In the January-April period, Colombia registered a $1.28 billion trade surplus, compared with a $53 million deficit in the same period in 2009, the government statistics department, known as DANE, said Tuesday.
Imports for the January-April period were up 12.7% at $12 billion, driven by higher purchases of fuel and mineral oils, DANE said in a statement.
Colombia’s biggest surpluses in the January-April period were with the U.S., at $2.325 billion, and with the Netherlands, at $425 million.
The trade surplus with Venezuela, traditionally Colombia’s second-largest trading partner, plummeted to $417 million from $1.645 billion a year ago.
The Venezuelan government all but shut the border to Colombian goods amid diplomatic spats between the governments of both countries.
Colombia’s widest trade deficit was with Mexico, at $812 million.
