Colombian Exports Research Articles

Economic Assessment of Technology Adoption in Oil Palm Plantations from Colombia

Adopting technology regarding agricultural crops has traditionally been associated with high costs. Producers have thus often abstained from adopting better agronomical practices and have consequently lost the benefits they could otherwise have obtained by implementing better criteria for managing their crops.This research builds on results by Ruiz et al., (2017) who found three typologies of oil palm lots, regarding adoption of technology and yields on oil palm crops from Colombia. This work was aimed at evaluating the typologies found by Ruiz et al. (2017) from an economic standpoint by using different economic assessment methods, in order to determine the benefits of technology adoption at the Colombian oil palm agroindustry. The methods used were aimed at estimating: unit cost, net present value (NPV), net income, land use efficiency, generation of income and competitiveness.Results indicate that the cost of producing a ton of fresh fruit bunches from oil palms (FFB) on lots having high adoption of technology was 2.5% to 8% lower when compared to lots having lower adoption of technology (Typologies 2 and 3. respectively). Technology adoption enables greater yearly net income to be obtained in mature oil palm crops in typology 1, than the one obtained at typology 2 and typology 3. The adoption of technology allows the grower to obtain net income equivalent to a legally-established yearly minimum wage (LEYMW), using less land. Finally, it was concluded that at average CPO prices for the period 2005-2015, the Colombian growers that participated in this study, may be competitive at the European market, which is the main destination of Colombian exports of crude palm oil (CPO).

¿Evolucionan las exportaciones colombianas hacia un mercado más volátil?: un análisis del periodo 1974-2014

<em><span>Este estudio busca determinar si la economía colombiana se mueve hacia una estructura de exportaciones más inestable, para lo cual se analiza tanto la evolución de las mismas entre el 1974 y el 2014, como la volatilidad de sus precios; entendida esta como las desviaciones en torno a la media, corregida o no por la tendencia, sin pretender explicar las razones de dicha inestabilidad. Los resultados muestran que las exportaciones colombianas siguen una marcada tendencia a moverse hacia productos minerales y energéticos, antes que agropecuarios. Los precios de los commodities tienden por lo general a crecer, alcanzando sus máximos en la primera década del siglo XXI. Los indicadores de volatilidad considerados, aplicados a los índices de precios de los productos de exportación tradicional y de otros índices de precios combinados, sugieren una mayor volatilidad en los mercados hacia los cuales se mueven las exportaciones de Colombia: los minerales. Con respecto a la tendencia que sigue la volatilidad observada en los precios considerados, los resultados no son concluyentes. Mientras los indicadores básicos apuntan a una creciente fluctuación en los precios agropecuarios, el rango de Parkinson sugiere lo contrario.</span></em>

International Market Orientation and International Outcomes

The literature in the field of internationalization has managed to link other areas of knowledge such as marketing to give an explanation to the establishment of strategies to survive in international markets. In this sense, the concept of international market orientation emerges that manages to explain how businesses design a strategy to improve the satisfaction of customer needs in international contexts. The purpose of this article is finding the factors that influence the relationship between the international market orientation and international results. In turn, the directors of export SME´s should be aware that entering international markets prematurely and achieving a significant percentage by volume of international sales does not necessarily guarantee better international performance. They should search for other types of resources or capabilities that permit better possibilities of obtaining competitive advantage in the long-term, such as the adoption of an international market orientation, which makes it possible to evaluate and analyze the internal and external factors present in a company’s internal dynamics. To achieve this objective is taken as the unit of analysis Colombian exporters companies through a sample of 319 surveys and that are processed in a hierarchical regression analysis. The main findings confirm that adopt a strategy of international orientation relative to other strategies such as innovative and entrepreneurial orientation does have positive effects on the internationalization of companies. However, this strategy has a tendency to saturation and therefore can generate negative effects on the international results.

Influencia de los estilos de liderazgo en el desempeño de las empresas exportadoras colombianas

This article takes as a starting point the theory of leadership traits to analyze the influence of the type of leadership of Colombian companies on their export performance. To achieve this objective, a database of 306 Colombian exporters is used and by means of a biphasic cluster analysis, the different types of leadership are analyzed: democratic, autocratic and liberal. The results identify a cluster of companies with high export performance combining liberal and democratic leadership, while the second cluster consists of companies with low export performance assuming a liberal leadership. We conclude that, in order to achieve higher performance levels, Colombian managers exercise leadership as a balance between freedom and control.

Export Failure and Its Consequences: Evidence from Colombian Exporters

Export Failure and Its Consequences: Evidence from Colombian Exporters

Los determinantes de la orientación exportadora y los resultados en las pymes exportadoras en Colombia

Based on the concept of market orientation defined in the field of international marketing, this article analyzes the determinants of export orientation and its influence on the business performance of exporting SMEs in Colombia. From a survey conducted in 2011, consisting of 297 Colombian manufacturing SMEs, a model of multi-layer perceptron type neural networks is estimated to establish the importance of the determinants of export orientation as factors influencing the business performance of the Colombian export SMEs. It is concluded that the entrepreneurial orientation and innovation are the determinants of the market orientation exporter that influence the business performance of SMEs in Colombia.

El Tratado de Libre Comercio Colombia-Estados Unidos: análisis crítico del discurso (ACD)

Free trade treaties are generally centered on defining some game rules to achieve commercial exchange. In this article, the contents of the text of the free trade treaty between Colombia and the United States are discussed using a critical discourse analysis, which will help to identify the power relationships in this discourse in the context of Colombian company management. The particularities of the free trade treaty are also analyzed from a linguistic point of view, and taking into account the variables such as access of goods into the market, customs procedures, business defense, public contracting, intellectual property rights, job-related and environmental issues.The results are associated with an analysis process of the discursive content of free trade treaties at three levels: grammar of the text, pragmatics of the text, and at a psychosocial level to understand the role that the discourse plays in the interpretation and reproduction of the social domination, with the aim that it may serve as an orientation for the management of Colombian export companies.

Exportaciones a Venezuela: evolución y efecto sobre el panorama exportador y las firmas colombianas (2000-2012)

This paper analyzes the dynamics of Colombian exports to the Venezuelan market, the characteristics of the firms that ship goods to this destination and the dependence of their revenues on sales to Venezuela. The results show that the Venezuelan market shipments affect the evolution, structure and destination of Colombian exports. Thus, its evolution has partly responded to the business cycle in the neighbor country and to the binational diplomatic relations. Also, the characteristics of the group of firms that participates in this market has changed according to the situation of trade between the two countries. Finally, for a sample of firms, the Venezuelan market is one of the main international destinations for their products, but does not represent the majority of their sales, which takes place mostly in the domestic market.

Economic evaluation of current conditions of competition and efficiency of automotive and rail systems in Colombia

This study uses microeconomic data from the transportation systems of land cargo in Colombia: rail and trucking, to determine their degree of allocative efficiency through the non-parametric method Data Envelopment Analysis DEA. The average overall efficiency found was 74.4% for trains and 20.56% for trucks. These figures indicate that rail is more efficient in the allocation of resources. This means that trains in Colombia use their input better than trucks to maximize their production, given the costs and technological characteristics of each system. This is a signal for the design of a public policy for investment in transportation infrastructure that seeks to raise the competitiveness of Colombian exports, investing not only in roads but in complementary systems such as railways too.

Factor adjustment implications of a Trade Promotion Agreement between the United States and Colombia

PurposeThis paper proposes to use changes in intra‐industry specialization indicators over the period 1996‐2008 to assess the potential for factor adjustment pressures that may arise in the USA if the proposed USA‐Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) is implemented. Results show that there is considerable scope for intra‐industry specialization between Colombia and the USA. The TPA should result in a larger increase in US exports to Colombia than US imports from Colombia, because Colombian exporters face much lower tariffs in the USA market than do US exporters in the Colombian market. Given the tariff asymmetry, scope for intra‐industry specialization, the relatively large size of the US market, and the small number of US industries that are likely to encounter factor adjustment pressures, the USA should ratify the agreement immediately.Design/methodology/approachChanges in intra‐industry specialization indicators are used to identify US industries that may face factor adjustment pressures as a result of the proposed USA‐Colombia TPA.FindingsThere is considerable scope for intra‐industry specialization between Colombia and the USA. Few US industries will be candidates for factor adjustment pressures.Practical applicationsThe USA should ratify the TPA.Originality/valueA new methodology is used to assess potential factor adjustment pressures associated with a TPA.

Export Promotion: Bundled Services Work Better

Export promotion agencies provide exporters with a broad range of services, going from counselling to sponsoring their participation in international trade missions and fairs. These services may have heterogeneous effects and thus contribute differently to achieve the goals of these organisations. Empirical evidence on their relative effectiveness is rather limited. This paper aims at filling this gap in the literature. We compare the impact of different public trade promotion programmes on the extensive and intensive margin of firms’ exports, both to each other and with respect to no participation in these activities, by applying multiple treatment matching difference-in-differences on highly disaggregated export data for the whole population of Colombian exporters over the period 2003–06. We find that use of programmes that combine different services is associated with better export performance than their basic individual components, primarily along the country-extensive margin.

Projection of the International Standard ISO 29383 Terminology in the Context of Colombian Exports

Objective: To present the applicability of the International Terminology Standard ISO 29383, and its positive influence in the context of exports in Colombia. On the other hand, this article seeks to show some of the work developed in the doctoral thesis ''Aplicación de normas terminológicas internacionales en el sector exportador colombiano'' (''Applicability of international terminology standards in the export sector in Colombia''), presented at the University of Vienna, Austria. The exposed section in this article is also part of the work of the International Technical Committee ISO / TC 37, in relation to the development of terminology standards that seek to have general applicability in many different contexts. One of them is the planning and implementation of terminology policies at government level, by the application of terminology standards. Method: Through the analysis of ISO 29 383 ''Terminology Policies,'' the most relevant aspects are presented, which help to understand its objectives, approaches, origins and essential points. Having a clear vision of the Standard, a comparative analysis is carried out contrasting with the Plan Estratégico Exportador (Strategic Export Plan) (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism and the National Learning Service -SENA, 2001), which defines the guidelines for the Colombian export policy. Results: projections of the Standard in the Colombian context are presented, i.e. how would it benefits the export sector would if a national terminology policy is implemented.Conclusions: The international effort on the standardization of terminology can positively influence the improvement of developing economies. The application of terminology standards is a development factor not only in specialized communication of a given sector, but also as a necessary element in the process of quality management, within which standardization is increasingly becoming a part of success in the international trade.
 Received: 21-01-10 / Accepted: 19-05-10
 How to reference this article:
 Diaz Vasquez, J. C. (2010). Proyección de la Norma Terminológica Internacional ISO 29383 en el contexto de las exportaciones colombianas. Íkala, 15(2), pp.161-186.

Trade Policy and Export Diversification: What Should Colombia Expect from the FTA with the United States?

Sectoral concentration of exports has been a longstanding matter of concern for policymakers in developing countries. According to economic theory and recent empirical evidence, improved market access through trade agreements is likely to favor export diversification. In this article, it is assessed whether this has been the case for Colombian exports to the United States and whether an FTA with the United States would help Colombia diversify their exports. We find that lower tariffs have indeed favored exports of new products from Colombia. Predictions suggest that the FTA is likely to induce further diversification, but only up to a certain point.

The role of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in determining carnation demand in the United Kingdom: implications for Colombian and Kenyan exports

The goal of this paper was to assess how the EU Generalised System of Preferences incentive scheme to combat drugs production and trafficking (GSP+) affected carnation imports in the United Kingdom (UK). Colombian carnations enter the EU duty-free under the GSP+ incentive scheme which is less secure than the trade agreement between the EU and Kenya. If the EU withdrew preferences from Colombia, would Kenyan flower exporters be better off in the UK carnation market? The results of study showed that Colombian exports benefited from tariff-free access to the UK where the benefit was due to both trade creation and trade diversion. Additionally, the competition between Colombian and Kenyan carnations was found to be insignificant and there was no evidence that GSP+ negatively affected Kenyan carnations. The results showed that competing exporters (Kenya, the Netherlands and Spain) could actually be better off when Colombian carnations are given duty-free to the EU.

A Unified Theory of Firm Selection and Growth

This paper develops a theory of firm selection and growth and embeds it into an international trade framework of balanced growth. I assume that firm-level growth is the result of idiosyncratic productivity improvements while there is continuous arrival of new potential producers. Firms can also pay an increasing market penetration cost to sell more to a given market. The model is consistent with a set of salient regularities of firm and exporter selection and growth, as well as the observed distribution of sales. I calibrate the model parameters that determine firm dynamics by looking at the exit rates of a cohort at the US census and the elasticity of trade in Eaton and Kortum. This elasticity is regulated in the model by the firm-level growth process. The calibrated model can account for almost all the turnover and growth of US census cohorts over two decades. It can also account for a large part of the turnover and growth of Colombian exporters in individual destinations.

Land Conflict, Property Rights, and the Rise of the Export Economy in Colombia, 1850-1925

This research attempts to explain the poor performance of the Colombian economy in the world markets during the late nineteenth century. Based on data on exportable production at the municipal level in 1892, coffee production in 1925 and of public land allocation and land conflicts during the nineteenth and twentieth century, we found that the greatest obstacle that faced Colombian export development was the weakness of settlers’ property rights in the frontier lands. The quantitative results show that in the absence of land conflicts, the municipality’s exportable production would have been at least twice as much as that observed.

Incrementando Las Relaciones Comerciales Entre Colombia Y China

After the reforms of the late 1970s, China achieved such a strong economic take-off that it was able to consolidate into one of today's most important markets worldwide, catching the attention of business people and researchers around the globe. In Colombia few studies have been conducted to examine commercial relations with China. In this respect, this paper provides a thorough review of statistical sources and bibliographical references, shedding light on the characteristics of and the factors affecting bilateral commercial relations. It shows that, although China is an important supplier of goods to Colombia, exports to that country remain below their potential, thus generating a huge commercial deficit. It also shows that Colombian exports to China focus on a limited number of products and, given the size and potential of the Chinese economy, Colombia should begin commercial negotiations with China for the purpose of signing a free trade agreement that would make it possible to increase trade between both countries.

The Determinants of Colombian Exports: An Empirical Analysis Using the Gravity Model

This thesis makes use of the gravity model to analyze the effectiveness of EU’s consecutive GSP programs on promoting Colombian exports. It concludes that the European preference systems have been consecutively less effective on boosting Colombian exports over time. This is explained by three major factors: an increasingly more efficient US preference system; a deepening of the Andean integration; and occurrence of EU enlargements. The sectoral analysis reveals that the GSP program of the EU had different effects across sectors.

Export Dynamics in Colombia: Firm-Level Evidence

Using transactions-level customs data from Colombia, we study firm-specific export patterns over the period 1996-2005. Our data allow us to track firms' entry and exit into and out of individual destination markets, as well as their revenues from selling there. We find that, in a typical year, nearly half of all Colombian exporters were not exporters in the previous year. These new exporters tend to be extremely small in terms of their overall contribution to export revenues, and most do not continue exporting in the following year. Hence export sales are dominated by a small number of very large and stable exporters. Nonetheless, out of each cohort of new exporters, a fraction of firms go on to expand their foreign sales very rapidly, and over the period of less than a decade, these successful new exporters account for almost half of total export expansion. Finally, we find that new exporters begin in a single foreign market and, if they survive, gradually expand into additional destinations. The geographic expansion paths they follow, and their likelihood of survival as exporters, depend on their initial destination market.

Long-run income and price elasticities of demand for Colombian nontraditional exports: a multivariate cointegration framework

A long run income and price elasticities of demand is estimated for Colombian nontraditional exports through a multivariate cointegration analysis. Based on the combination of cointegration and exogeneity concepts and the inclusion of the complete dynamic system, the paper shows the existence of a long-run relationship among nontraditional exports, relative price and foreign demand, and higher long-run elasticities than those provided by the long-run cointegration vector coefficients that are usually reported in the trade literature.