Valle del Cauca Grand Roundup: Initial roundup with expected business revenue of $46 million for the department

For the Cali Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the district mayor's office, and the governor of Valle del Cauca, this year's business roundtable, held in the department on July 9 and 10 by ProColombia, with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, has left a positive impact on the region's economy.

It was the first time that a national business roundtable, titled "Colombia, the Country of Beauty 2025," was held in Valle del Cauca.

A preliminary report released by EL TIEMPO indicates that 3,524 businesspeople attended, along with 117 partners, 657 international buyers, 1,881 exporters, 58 companies with investment projects, plus 25 investors, 41 tourism providers, and 22 buyers in the same economic sector.

Business prospects for the country have reportedly reached $175 million for national companies, with 43% of appointments evaluated. Of that total, business prospects for companies in the Valley were estimated at $46 million.

Likewise, 321 exporters from the department alone, as well as 22 tourism providers and nine Colombian businesspeople as investors, arrived at the Valle del Pacífico Events Center, the epicenter of the macro-round.

The Cali Chamber of Commerce reported that partial data from a survey conducted among Valle del Cauca business owners and buyers at the business roundtable with a sample of 50 companies showed:

Nine business meetings on average per company.

Four real sales opportunities on average per company.

Connections with four different countries on average per company.

$50,500 in 12-month business prospects per company.

In turn, according to the CCC, there are data to take into account:

Top 5 countries with which exporting companies connected the most: United States (66%), Ecuador (64%), Peru (42%), Puerto Rico (28%) and Guatemala (28%).

"One hundred percent of the Valley's exporting companies generated at least one connection with future sales potential," the Chamber survey states.

Sixteen percent of the Valley's exporting companies made sales during the event, with an average of two deals per company and an average value of $7,056 per transaction.

According to Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder, some 250,000 visitors came to the city last year. According to ProColombia, in terms of tourism, 80,247 tourists arrived between January and April of last year.

Regarding exports, between January and May of 2025, exports totaled $1.093 billion, a 16.2% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

While in 2024, 2.373 billion were reported, a decrease of only 0.7% compared to 2023.

Non-mining exports accounted for 99.5% in 2024, with growth of 16.2% in the first half of 2025.

When it comes to tourism destinations in 2024, the top destination was the United States (82%), followed by Ecuador (5.4%), Peru, and Mexico, with increasing numbers.

The agribusiness, real estate, and cosmetics sectors have been showing positive investment prospects.

There are also recent projects in the agri-food, energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors.

Furthermore, the number of exporting companies in 2024 was 775, decreasing to 577 in the first five months of 2025.

Non-mining exports will represent 99.5% of the total in 2024, reaching $2.373 billion.

• The main destinations for non-mining exports are the United States (23.5%) and Ecuador (14.5%) in 2024.

• Sectors such as sugar, cosmetics and agro-industrial are important in exports

According to ProColombia, the Cauca Valley is taking advantage of free trade agreements.

Thus, agreements with the United States represent 23.5% of exports in 2024, with a value of $558 million.

In addition, the Pacific Alliance represents 22.1% of exports, reaching $524,350,465 in 2024.

Likewise, a positive variation is observed in exports to Venezuela, with an increase of 43.2% in 2024

ProColombia has data indicating recent investment cases in the Cauca Valley, covering sectors such as agribusiness, real estate, and logistics.

Companies such as Yara International and WEWORK have made significant investments in the department.

At ProColombia, they believe that investment opportunities are in agri-food, competitiveness (energy and infrastructure), and Industry 4.0.

The number of foreign travelers arriving in Valle del Cauca increased by 14.2% between 2023 and 2024, reaching 261,788.

Cali will account for 82.0% of foreign travel arrivals in 2024, with 214,570 visitors.

The main tourism products promoted include wellness, conventions, culture, nature, and incentive trips.

In terms of national air connectivity, Avianca offers 163 weekly flights from Bogotá to Cali.

CLIC AIR SA operates 12 weekly flights from Medellín EOH to Cali, and Latam Airlines Group offers 82 weekly flights from Bogotá to Cali.

Latam Airlines Group offers 82 weekly flights from Bogotá to Cali.

Correspondent for EL TIEMPO