Agriculture

Despite lower international prices for some of Colombia’s key cash crops, the agriculture sector ended 2013 posting growth of 5.2%, higher than overall economic growth of 4.7%. Coffee’s 22.3% expansion made it the sector’s shining star in 2013. However, the various challenges the sector faces, in particular increased international competition as a result of a number of recent free trade agreements, led to a series of strikes involving multiple subsectors in the first half of 2013, which culminated with a large-scale national strike mid-year, placing agriculture centre-stage politically. The government of Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, re-elected for a second term in June 2014, has prioritised agricultural development and an increasing budget reflects the government’s commitment to revitalising the sector. Stable growth has continued into the first three months of 2014, with the sector expanding 6.1%. With the possibility of negotiating a peace agreement strengthened by the re-election of Santos, the next decade could see the sector play a more prominent role in the national economy.