Coffee is the main crop. Colombia is the second world’s producer and the first in the production of soft coffee. This crop grows mainly in the slopes of the mountains of Caldas, Antioquia, Cundinamarca, North of Santander, Tolima, Santander, Risaralda and Quindío departments. Other important crops are: sugar cane, rice, banana, tobacco, cotton, and tropical and semitropical flowers. Minor crops are: cereals, vegetables and a great variety of fruits. Also are other plants as agave, henequén and hemp which are used for the manufacture of ropes and sacks. Cattle breeding has more than 25 million of livestock, more than 2 million horses and more than 3 million of pigs and sheep.
Coffee is the main product, which represents one-third of the annual exports value of the country. Other exports are: oil, cotton goods, fresh flowers, bananas, chemicals, sugar, coal, gold, emeralds and cattle.
The most important imports are: mechanical and electrical equipment, chemicals, food and metals.
Industry is basically made up by small enterprises which produce for the domestic and Andean market, mainly. Also important are industrial businesses where cotton spinning is produced. This places are located in the cities of Barranquilla, Manizales and Medellín, mainly. Other important industries are: food processing, tobacco products, iron and steel, and transport equipment, as well as the publishing industry. Chemicals, the shoe and textile industries, and the oil industry are being developed.
There are a great variety of fishes in the seas and in the majority of rivers and lakes. You may find trout, sailfish, white fish, crabs, and tuna, among the most important. The annual catch is over60 000 t, of which the most part corresponds to fresh water fish species.
Con una economía estable y diversificada, Colombia ha disfrutado del más consistente crecimiento de toda la América Latina durante varias décadas.El crecimiento se ha mantenido en años recientes por la expansion del sector de la construcción, de los servicios financieros y la llegada de capital del exterior., estas inversiones, en especial en la industria del petróleo, siguen aumentando a un ritmo elevado. Ahora el petróleo está desbancando los ingresos debidos al café, aunque los ingresos por el tráfico de drogas posiblemente superen a los de ambos. La economía que no depende del petróleo, crece a un ritmo más lento.Los principales recursos naturales son el petróleo, gas natural, carbón, mineral de hierro, niquel, oro, cobre, esmeraldas.Los productos agrícolas son:café, flores, plátanos, arroz, tabaco, maíz, caña de azúcar, cacao, judías, aceite de semillas, hortalizas, productos forestales, granjas de gambas. Las principales industrias del país son textiles, industrias agroalimentarias, petróleo, vestido y calzado, bebidas, productos químicos, cemento, oro, carbón, esmeraldas
The best choice is to travel during the day because there are beautiful landscapes. On the other hand, it is safer, due to the fact that at night travel is dangerous because of robberies. In the main roads there are bus services every day and at different times. Roads in Colombia reach 3380 Km., but there is not almost any passenger service. The most common service is the load service. In the main cities of the country you may find taxis, which are not expensive.
Group of Three (G3) – Free Trade Agreement among Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela;AAP (Partial Scope Agreement for Economic Supplementation) Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (as members of the Andean Community) with Brazil and ArgentinaColombia – Chile: Agreement for Economic Supplementation (ACE)AAP (Agreement of Partial Scope) with El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Panama.CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market).ALADI – Latin America Association of Integration. AEC (Association of Caribbean States).Bilateral Agreement for Investments with Peru.
