Colombia sees strongest growth among top partners.

BY LATINVEX STAFF

Just as Colombia and Japan have announced their intentions to start negotiations for a free trade agreement, a Latinvex analysis shows that Colombia posted the highest growth among Japan’s leading trade partners in Latin America.

All in all, Japanese trade grew by 9 percent to $78.8 billion, according to the analysis of 2011 data from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). The increase was mainly due to a strong -- 22.4 percent – growth in imports from Latin America, which ended up at $34.7 billion. That growth helped offset a 0.3 percent increase in Japan’s exports to the region, which totaled $44.1 billion.

Japan’s trade with Brazil and Chile also posted strong growth last year, while it fell with Panama.