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How much of Colombia’s trade passes through the Panama Canal?

In 2024, an estimated $36.9 billion of Colombia’s trade passed through the Panama Canal, 43.5% of its seaborne trade. That is $13.8 billion of exports and $23.1 billion of imports. The partners with the most trade through it are China, the United States and South Korea.

Summary

Estimated value
$36.9billion
Of its seaborne trade
43.5%
Exports
$13.8billion
Imports
$23.1billion

Trend

Estimated value per year

Colombia’s estimated trade through the Panama Canal rose 21% between 2019 and 2024

Value in USD billions

  • Colombia 36.9

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearEstimated valueOf its seaborne trade
1995$5.6 billion32.4%
1996$5.8 billion32.5%
1997$6.4 billion32.5%
1998$6 billion32.3%
1999$5 billion32%
2000$6.2 billion33.5%
2001$6.1 billion34%
2002$6.3 billion34.9%
2003$7.1 billion34.7%
2004$8.9 billion35.3%
2005$10.8 billion34.5%
2006$13.3 billion36%
2007$17 billion36.9%
2008$21.1 billion37.1%
2009$17.3 billion36.5%
2010$23.6 billion38.9%
2011$31.6 billion36.5%
2012$34.7 billion37.9%
2013$34.5 billion37.9%
2014$35.9 billion39.8%
2015$26.8 billion40.1%
2016$24.6 billion40.9%
2017$26.4 billion40.6%
2018$30.6 billion42.1%
2019$30.4 billion43%
2020$25 billion44.2%
2021$33.9 billion43.9%
2022$42.2 billion40.8%
2023$34.8 billion40.6%
2024$36.9 billion43.5%

Partners whose trade crosses it

Estimated value of its trade with each partner that crosses the chokepoint; the percentage is the share of all its trade through the chokepoint, not of the pair’s trade.

  1. Colombia–China$13.3 billion · 36.2%
  2. Colombia–United States$9.1 billion · 24.8%
  3. Colombia–South Korea$1.9 billion · 5.1%
  4. Colombia–Chile$1.6 billion · 4.4%
  5. Colombia–Japan$1.5 billion · 4.2%
  6. Colombia–Mexico$1.4 billion · 3.9%
  7. Colombia–Canada$622 million · 1.7%
  8. Colombia–Bolivia$514 million · 1.4%
  9. Colombia–Vietnam$482 million · 1.3%
  10. Colombia–Ecuador$475 million · 1.3%

What crosses it

The products with the highest estimated value in 2024, with their share of the total through the chokepoint.

  1. Coal$3 billion · 8%
  2. Crude petroleum$3 billion · 8%
  3. Refined petroleum$2 billion · 5.3%
  4. Coffee$1.3 billion · 3.6%
  5. Cars$1.2 billion · 3.2%
  6. Cut flowers$759 million · 2.1%
  7. Corn$513 million · 1.4%
  8. New tires$422 million · 1.1%
  9. Ferroalloys$362 million · 0.98%
  10. Soybean meal and pellets$352 million · 0.95%

If it closes

  • China–Colombia: +4,376 nautical miles, ≈ 13 days more at 14 knots, via the Strait of Malacca and Singapore; the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait; the Suez Canal; and the Strait of Gibraltar
  • Colombia–United States: +9,687 nautical miles, ≈ 29 days more at 14 knots, via the Cape Horn

Estimated sailing detour, without costs, waiting or port capacity.

Reference ports

Cartagena (87%) and Buenaventura (13%)

Each port with the weight it receives from the country’s trade, based on where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest.

Other chokepoints it uses

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

Methodology

We estimate the value crossing each chokepoint from BACI trade that travels by sea according to our mode heuristic, split between each country’s ports by where its GDP is generated and which coast is closest, and routed over our own sea network. It is an estimate, not a count of ships. It covers 99.9% of seaborne trade. The approach follows Verschuur, Lumma and Hall (Nature Communications, 2025). Data up to 2024.

All maritime chokepoints