Colombia Looks to Asia to Diversify Its Exports Amid Trade War

(Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. 

Colombia is looking to boost trade with Asian countries as it seeks to protect the nation amid a global trade war, President Ivan Duque said.

The Andean nation is stepping up its efforts to strengthen trade relations with China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, Duque said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York. At the same time, the country is seeking funding for infrastructure projects such as roads and ports.

“Colombia is looking to diversify its exports and consolidate markets,” Duque said. “We will continue to call investors worldwide to look at Colombia as the place in Latin America” to invest in.

Duque said he’s working to open markets in China for Colombia’s agriculture products including avocado, bananas and beef. That would help reduce the country’s dependence on oil and coal, which account for around 60% of total exports.

There are Chinese companies interested in building a port on Colombia’s Pacific coast, and some are considering participating in the Bogota metro project, according to Duque.

China is Colombia’s biggest trading partner after the U.S.. In 2018, the country exported 10% of its $42 billion exports to the Asian giant, especially oil and other commodities.

Other nations including South Korea and Japan are seen as big prospects for the Colombian market as the 43-year-old leader tries to attract investment in the technology sector.

“There will be a mission to South Korea soon to explore which sectors have the best potential,” Duque said. “We’ve also heard from investors in Singapore that they want to get to the Colombian capital markets” and technology.

To contact the reporters on this story: Oscar Medina in Bogota at omedinacruz@bloomberg.net;Shery Ahn in New York at sahn53@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Andrea Jaramillo, Robert Jameson

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.