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China Ousts Venezuela As Colombia's No. 2
Trading Partner
By Matthew Bristow, Dow Jones
BOGOTA - China has replaced
Venezuela as Colombia's second-largest
trading partner, as Colombia's oil exports
to China have multiplied more than 50-fold
over the last year.
Colombian exports of crude, fuels and
derivatives to China totaled $235 million in
the first 10 months of 2009, up from $4.5
million in the same period in 2008,
according to data from Colombia's national
statistics agency, or DANE, released
Thursday.
"China is investing heavily in Latin America
looking to get hold of commodities, which is
likely to continue," said Bertrand Delgado,
a New York-based research analyst for
emerging markets and Latin America at RGE
Monitor. "The problem is that Colombia's
exports to Venezuela are mainly value-added,
while exporting oil is just raw materials.
When you try to advance as an economy you
try to export as many value-added products
as you can."
Colombia's exports to China were valued at
$115 million in October, up from $15 million
in October 2008. Most of the rise is due to
increased exports of crude and oil
derivatives, a DANE spokesperson said.
"This year we have shipped 6 cargoes of 1
million barrels [of heavy crude mixed with
naphtha] each to China," said Mauricio
Tellez, a spokesman for Colombia's
state-controlled oil company Ecopetrol SA (ECOPETROL.BO).
Venezuela is traditionally Colombia's
second-largest trading partner, after the
U.S., but trade between the two neighbors
slumped in the third quarter due a
diplomatic dispute over the U.S. military
presence in Colombia.
Colombian exports to Venezuela in October
fell 70% to $195 million on October 2008,
after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said
his country will substitute Colombian
imports with products from other countries.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Wednesday
said Venezuela is currently enforcing an
embargo against Colombia and other Latin
American countries are taking advantage to
substitute Colombian products on the
Venezuelan market.
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