Despite a drop in national exports, Colombia’s first quarter industrial production grew in comparison to the previous year, as did the country’s overall sales, according to a report published Wednesday by the National Business Association of Colombia ANDI.
The report shows it’s been a mixed year so far for Colombian industry, which added 36,000 new jobs but continues to watch its international competitiveness diminish. Industrial production and sales grew 3.8 and 5%, respectively, even as international exports dropped 4.6%.
Textile production saw the most growth (18.7%), on top of a 4.7% increase in sales that included a 16.4% domestic increase. The automotive sector was also bolstered by strong domestic sales growth of 10.9%, which made up for a 5.4% overall sales drop and helped prop up a 10.8% increase in production. Food production, meanwhile, went up 9.8% as compared to Q1 2013, with 10.7% overall sales growth and 9% growth domestically, according to the report.
The paper and cardboard and non-metal mineral sectors were also among those to see positive growth trends in both sales and production.
On the other end of the spectrum, production fell in the autoparts (2.9%), refined petroleum (4%), and chemical (1.5%) sectors.