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 trade. This platform provides information on both goods and services.
National Assets
Panama closed the year 2024 (preliminary data) with growth in its exports, reaching a total of 964.3 million dollars. This figure represents an increase of 66.4 million dollars (7.4%) compared to 2023, when exports totaled 897.9 million dollars.
Bananas remained Panama’s main export product, accounting for 16.3% of total national goods exports. Likewise, frozen shrimp were a key component, making up 10.4% of the total exported.
Other significant products that contributed to export growth included raw cane sugar (4.9%), crude palm oil (4.8%), and fish oils and fats (4.5%).
As for export destinations, the United States remained Panama’s main trading partner in 2024, with a total of 184.5 million dollars, representing 19.1% of total exports. The Netherlands ranked second with 140.1 million dollars (14.5%), followed by Taiwan with 110.6 million dollars (11.5%).
Regarding imports, their value was 13,992 million dollars, with the United States being our main trading partner.
The data for national goods excludes information from the Colon Free Zone, Panama Pacific Special Economic Area, Free Zones, Warehouses and Deposits, and Petroleum Free Zones.
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Special Economic Zones
In 2024, the Colón Free Zone recorded a total movement of 24,719 million dollars.
Regarding the Panama Pacific Special Economic Area, in 2024 goods worth $140 million were exported, while imports reached $3,243 million. Additionally, this zone managed to handle re-exports totaling $1,860 million.
On the other hand, the Free Zones in 2024 recorded re-exports amounting to $113 million and exports worth $189 million. As for imports, these reached $283 million.
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Services
The service statistics follow the guidelines of the Balance of Payments Manual, version 6 (BPM6). For more details, one can directly consult the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). The presented data are aggregated and classified into the 12 components of BPM6.
According to 2024 figures, the highest-value service exports in our country correspond to the component of Transport, totaling $9.124 billion, followed by the component of Travel, which reached a value of $6.005 billion. Compared to 2023, transport recorded a percentage increase of 0.03%, while travel grew by 10%.
According to BPM6, the transport category encompasses the movement of people or objects from one place to another, along with auxiliary and support services. It also includes postal and courier services. Transport can be classified according to two criteria:
a) Transport mode (maritime, air, land, or other)
b) What is being transported (passengers or cargo).
Therefore, the Transport component is classified taking into account both dimensions.
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Source: National Institute of Statistics and Census of Panama (INEC). Data updated through December 2024. The figures for 2024 are preliminary.
For more information, you can access the INEC Foreign Trade Statistics Query System: http://www.inec.gob.pa (available in Spanish only).