Colombia’s exports reached record levels despite the complex global economic context and tariff pressures. In September, the sale of Colombian products abroad reached US$4.6213 billion FOB (Free On Board), a value that includes the cost of the goods until they are loaded onto the vessel at the port of origin, excluding international freight and insurance.
This figure, which represents an 11.1% increase compared to the same month last year, marks progress that not only reflects a quantitative achievement for the country’s foreign trade but also symbolizes a significant shift in the sectoral composition of exports.
According to official data, agricultural, food, and beverage goods — sectors that until recently were secondary to extractive industries — recorded an increase of about 29.6%, and for the first time, their combined value exceeded that of traditional fuels and minerals.
The change in the economic model, which was one of Gustavo Petro’s campaign promises in 2022, seems to be becoming a reality that not only fails to worsen Colombia’s macroeconomic figures but also presents a scenario that improves upon past performance. The president has seized upon this fact to, as he said, demonstrate that the economic transition he promised brings improvements to Colombia’s economy, despite the doomsday predictions of the conservative opposition.
Colombian exports reached historic levels
The phenomenon has multiple causes that converge in a favorable international environment and recent domestic economic policy decisions. On one hand, global demand for agricultural products is booming: Prices for coffee, palm oil, and other tropical crops have rebounded, allowing Colombia to benefit from the reorganization of international trade. On the other hand, sectors such as chemical manufacturing and transport machinery have also shown progress, indicating a degree of diversification in export destinations.
But perhaps the most notable fact is that exports of fuels and extractive products grew only 3.7% during the same period. In contrast, the agricultural and food group, in addition to growing nearly three times as much, became the main driver of external dynamism. This difference largely reflects a government strategy to reduce dependence on the extractive sector and to bet on a “new” export profile.
Another factor at play is international integration: Traditional destinations such as the United States continue to absorb a large share of Colombian exports (26.2% of the total during the period analyzed). However, markets such as Peru and Panama have also played a significant role, reportedly due to rising demand for copper minerals and concentrates.
President Petro’s reaction
Colombian President Gustavo Petro and his economic team have insisted that this evolution is the result of a new economic model — one based on national production and on integrating the Colombian economy into the world not through mere extraction but through transformation and the export of value-added goods.
On his X social media account, the president stated: “This is the economic model and the way of connecting to the global economy that I promised and that can, if sustained over time, bring progress and opportunity to the country’s majority.”
In his remarks, Petro argued that these figures in the external sector validate “the success of our program in the last measured year” and highlighted that “for the first time in decades, the sum of agricultural and industrial exports — that is, production — surpasses fossil and nonfossil extractive exports,” which is the model he promised during his campaign three years ago.
En el sector externo puedo mostrar el éxito de nuestro programa en el último año medido.
Por primera vez en décadas, la suma de las exportaciones agropecuarias e industriales, es decir: la producción, superan las exportaciones extractivas fósiles y no fósiles.
Este es el… https://t.co/PerUKXkXRO pic.twitter.com/KyuSJBdHcO
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) November 5, 2025
At the same time, the president was careful to warn that a good result is not guaranteed by itself: It depends on the sustainability of these dynamics, the maintenance of production, the increase in productivity, the integration of productive regions into international trade, and the translation of benefits into opportunities for the majority. “If it is sustained over time, it can bring progress and opportunity to the majority of the country,” he stated.
The government’s narrative thus takes shape: It is no longer just about exporting more oil or minerals, but about transforming the country’s productive base so that it has a more diversified, competitive, and international presence.
However, behind the celebration lie shades of caution: The accumulated 17% drop recorded by the extractive sector between January and September 2025 — in contrast with the 36.5% increase in the agrifood sector — reveals that the shift in the export pattern is still underway and that the Colombian economy continues to depend in part on traditional exports.
Products driving Colombian exports in 2025
Within the set of exported products, two categories stood out and accounted for much of the growth: unroasted coffee and palm oil. According to official data, exports of unroasted coffee soared by 82.9%, while those of palm oil and its fractions registered an even greater rise of 170.9% compared to the same month of the previous year.
This remarkable progress sends clear signals. First, that Colombian agribusiness can compete strongly in global markets when better international prices are combined with productive capacity. Second, that there is a paradigm shift: While in the past most of the exported value came from crude oil, coal, and minerals, now agriculture and agribusiness are taking the lead. So much so that the agricultural sector accounted for 26.8% of the total export value in September 2025.
It is also worth noting that manufacturing grew by 11.8%, driven by chemical products and machinery, which indicates that productive diversification is beginning to bear fruit.
The fact is that this record-setting export episode confirms that, despite internal turbulence and international pressures, especially from the United States, the Colombian economy is showing better figures than in previous administrations, which were much more aligned with Washington’s foreign policy interests.
Now the challenge for the South American country is clear: To turn this change in the economic pattern and this improvement in macroeconomic figures into the social transformation promised by the Petro government. The opposition majority in Congress, and its blocking of social legislative proposals, has hindered this possibility since last year.
That is why next year’s legislative and presidential elections will give Colombians the chance to decide what model of society they prefer and whether the change initiated in 2022 — including in the economic sphere — will receive public approval and be able to continue beyond Petro’s four-year presidency.