Trade
The Georgia Tech Panama Logistics Innovation and Research Center has developed a public access tool that allows users to obtain and analyze statistics related to Panama’s foreign trade. This platform provides information on national assets and special economic zones (Panama Pacific, Free Trade Zones and Colón Free Zone).
National Assets
Special Economic Zones
National Assets
At the end of the year 2023 (preliminary data), exports of goods reached a total of $3,367 million in FOB terms, which marked a decrease of 7% compared to the year 2022. During the year 2023, chapter 26 exports ” Metalliferous minerals, slag and ash” and chapter 8 “Fruits and edible fruits; peels of citrus fruits, melons or watermelons” stood out as the main drivers of the market, representing 73% and 5% of the total exported in terms monetary, respectively.
Regarding the main destinations of our exports in 2023, China, Japan and South Korea stood out. On the other hand, imports in CIF terms were $14,527 million.
The re-export statistics correspond to those of Panama and the warehouses. The re-export movement refers to the departure of foreign merchandise arriving in the country, provided that these, when introduced, comply with the import requirements and the payment of respective taxes and that they do not undergo substantial transformation, these merchandise can be new or used.
These data exclude information on the Colón Free Zone, the Panama Pacifico Special Economic Area, Free Trade Zones, Warehouses and Deposits, and the Oil Free Zones.
Special Economic Zones
In 2023, the Colón Free Zone experienced notable growth in its operations, moving a total of 33,128 million dollars, which reflects a significant increase of 29% compared to 2022.
Regarding the Special Economic Area of Panama Pacific, in 2023 goods worth $142 million were exported, while imports reached $6,477 million. In addition, this area managed to mobilize re-exports for a total of $1,675 million.
On the other hand, the Free Zones also experienced solid performance in 2023, with re-exports amounting to $108 million and exports worth $148 million. As for imports, these reached $262 million dollars.
For more information, you can access the INEC Foreign Trade Statistics Consultation System: http://www.inec.gob.pa (available only in Spanish).
Source: National Institute of Statistics and Census of Panama (INEC, for its acronym in Spanish). Data updated until December 2023. The data for 2023 are preliminary figures.