Panama. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Mici), exports of goods excluding copper amounted to $581.2 million through the first half of 2023.
Of the total, approximately $448.1 million is accounted for by shipments from the agriculture, agribusiness, industrial and aquaculture production sectors, which recorded a growth of 4.4% compared to the same period in 2022.
While $133 million went into the movement of registered industrial exports from free zones and the Panama-Pacific economic area.
According to Mici, in terms of trading systems, excluding copper, 79.3% of cumulative exports (as of June 2023) were sold to countries with which Panama has a current trade agreement.
When it comes to trading blocs as destinations for Panamanian exports, the European Union ranks first, followed by the Central American Common Market (MCA) and the Latin American Integration Association (Aladi).
However, the most important export products include copper and bananas, which cumulatively accounted for 74.5% and 4.3% of the total in the first half of 2023, respectively.
This was followed by exports of other goods such as medicines (1.6%), raw teakwood (1.5%) and iron or steel scrap (1.4%).
The main export markets were China, Japan and South Korea due to the export of porphyry copper.
By excluding copper exports, the Mici claims that the United States remains the main destination, followed by sales to the Colón Free Trade Zone, while exports to the Netherlands remain in third place and fourth is India due to teak exports.
