Industry & Retail

Industry got off to a strong start in 2019, as domestic consumption and exports rebounded. The national government’s policies to expand successful programmes and do away with under-performing ones, together with a focus on improving productivity and leveraging collaboration between the country’s regions, should help to strengthen industrial capacity. However, while efforts to modernise and reduce administrative hurdles are positive steps towards improving performance, regaining momentum in infrastructure development and reducing logistics and transport costs remain economy-wide priorities. Broad trends have buoyed the retail sector in recent years, including the growing number of new shopping malls and the expanding presence of internationally branded stores. The drive to increase IT usage among Colombians has also transformed the country into one of the region’s fastest-growing online retail markets. This chapter contains an interview with José Manuel Restrepo, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.