Colombia’s Free-Zone Shipments Jump 30%, but Exports Rise Just 6.1%

FTZ News: Exports from Colombia’s free zones rose 6.1% in the January-to-July period from a year earlier. The zones accounted for 4.9% of the country’s exports.

The figures, published by Revista C-Level , were calculated by ANDI’s Chamber of Free Zone Users using data from Colombia’s statistics agency, DANE.

Over the January-to-July period, Colombia’s total exports rose 12.7% from a year earlier, to $32.49 billion, DANE reported. Fuels and other products of the extractive industries increased 16.6%, while manufactured exports fell 2.5%. Exports outside mining and energy declined 1.4%. In July alone, total exports rose 5.9% from a year earlier.

Goods leaving the zones, counting sales into the rest of Colombia, rose 30% in the seven months from the year-earlier period. Shipments into the National Customs Territory—the part of the country outside the free-zone regime—rose 31.8%. Exports from the zones were up 6.1% over the same stretch. The chamber said companies in the zones sold more to Colombian buyers as well as to customers abroad.

“While the country’s non-mining-energy exports fall, free zones keep growing,” said Angélica Peña, executive director of the chamber. “Companies operating here export and also sell to Colombia, and that shows in the numbers. With clear rules and faster procedures, this platform can deliver much more.”

In a December 2025 report, the World Trade Organization said tariffs and other import-restrictive measures introduced since 2009 affected 19.7% of world imports, up from 12.6% a year earlier, the highest share since the organization began the tally. On Sept. 9, the WTO said its goods-trade barometer stood at 102, compared with 101.7 in June./.