Production in the Colombian manufacturing industry increased by 1.7 percent in the first quarter of the current year, compared to the same quarter of 2011, as announced by the Colombian National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE).
In the first quarter of the current year, Colombia's iron and steel production increased by 23.8 percent on year-on-year basis, while the country's iron and steel exports saw an increase of 13.9 percent in value compared to January-March 2011, totaling $319,532.
Meanwhile, Colombia's ferronickel export value rose by 23.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, with $263.8 million. In March alone the country's ferronickel exports value almost doubled compared to the same month of the previous year with $96.4 million.