Bilateral trade between China, CAN tops $40 billion in 2014: report

LIMA - Bilateral trade between China and the Andean Community (CAN) reached $40.32 billion in 2014, up 6.5 percent from the previous year, the regional trade bloc said Friday.

The bilateral trade has seen two growth phases since 2005, the Lima-based CAN, a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, said in a report.

The first rise took place between 2005 and 2008, followed by a fall in 2009 due to the international financial crisis, before a return to prolonged growth between 2010 and 2014.

Last year, China became the third-largest destination for CAN exports, accounting for 10.3 percent of the total, according to the report.

The principal exporter was Peru, which exported 6.68 billion dollars worth of goods to China, or 50.5 percent of the total. Colombia came second with 42.5 percent of exports to China, with Ecuador and Bolivia far behind, with 3.8 and 3.2 percent respectively.

CAN's main exports to China include crude oil and bitumen products 38.7 percent, as well as copper and its derivatives 25.3 percent.

China was CAN's second-largest source of imports, which ranged from cellphones, telecommunications equipment to heavy machinery, accounting for 18.4 percent of its total.

Colombia imported 11.79 billion dollars worth of products from China, accounting for 43.5 percent of CAN's total imports from China, the largest share. Peru came second with 32.9 percent, followed by Ecuador (16.9 percent) and Bolivia (6.7 percent).