The Venezuelan-Colombian Chamber (Cavecol) assured that the commercial exchange between the two nations increased by 19% during the first half of 2023, said the head of the Chamber, Luis Alberto Russián.
“We have an update compared to January to June, first semester: the commercial exchange closed 388 million [dollars] of binational commercial exchange; in the same period last year it had been 324 million dollars; that implies an increase of 19%,” Russián explained during an interview on the local radio station Union Radio.
On September 26, 2022, Colombia and Venezuela opened the binational border for trade, which had been closed since 2015 due to political differences.
Four months later, on January 1, both countries fully reopened the common border with the opening of the Atanasio Girardot international bridge, formerly called Tienditas, which connects the department of Norte de Santander with the Venezuelan state of Táchira.
Russián stressed that, since the binational relationship was restored, several working groups have been held in different areas with the purpose of increasing the exchange and facilitating the logistical process for it.
“This past year, the will of the sectors involved in the restoration of commercial activity has allowed for open spaces for the private sector,” Russián said.
“I would like to refer to the fact that it has been an intense year; it is a year of transition; it is a year of reconstruction of the relationship; and that it has involved a lot of will and a lot of work. We have to recognize that there has been a lot of will from the public sector as leaders in this negotiation process, which they have allowed to generate spaces with the private sector,” he added.
Likewise, the head of the chamber said that exports to the New Granada nation increased by 106% during the first six months of this year.
As for imports, Russián explained that the figure reached 306 million dollars in the aforementioned period, which represented an increase of 7.5%.
