Production in the Colombian manufacturing industry declined by 1.6 percent in April this year, compared to the same month of 2011, as announced by the Colombian National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).
In the month in question, Colombia's basic iron and steel production increased by 13.8 percent on year-on-year basis, while the output of metal products rose by 43.1 percent compared to April 2011. In the first four months of the current year, Colombia's basic iron and steel production increased by 24 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the first four months of this year, the country's iron and steel exports saw an increase of eight percent in value compared to January-April 2011, totaling $404.2 million. Meanwhile, Colombia's ferronickel export value rose by 18.8 percent in the first four months of this year, compared to the same period last year, reaching $327.3 million. In April alone, the country's ferronickel exports value increased 2.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year to $63.5 million.