How to solve logistics issues when shipping cross-border e-commerce products to Colombia
As the third largest economy in South America, Colombia has a population of nearly 52 million and an online shopping penetration rate of more than 60%. Online sales reached US $15.5 billion in 2023, up 12.58% year-on-year. This market full of potential is attracting the attention of global cross-border e-commerce. However, complex logistics policies, weak infrastructure and cultural differences constitute the core challenges for China sellers to enter the Colombia market.
I. Difficulties in Colombia logistics policy: customs clearance, taxes and fees and the “triple door” of the last kilometer
1. Fragmentation of customs clearance policy and inefficient implementation
Colombia customs is among the strictest in Latin America in terms of supervision of imported goods. According to Colombia Customs Law, all imported goods shall be provided with commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and import license (such as sensitive categories such as drugs and cosmetics). In 2024, a China seller did not clearly mark the material of the goods in the certificate of origin, resulting in a batch of textiles worth US $300,000 staying in the port of Buenaventura for 28 days, and finally completed customs clearance after paying high storage fees.
More troubling, Colombia customs “grey zone” operations are widespread. Some logistics companies avoid customs duties by understating the value of goods, but it is easy to cause seizure of goods. In March 2025, a seller in Shenzhen was fined 50% of the goods value by Colombia Tax Bureau for false declaration of goods value, resulting in a loss of more than US $150,000.
2. Complex tax structure and high hidden costs
Colombia’s import tax system consists of customs duties, value-added taxes (IVA) and excise taxes. Taking electronic products as an example, the tariff rate is usually 10%-20%, and the VAT is unified at 19%(calculated on the basis of value + tariff). For electronic products with a value of US $100,000, customs duties of US $20,000 and VAT of US $22,800 will be paid, with a total tax of US $42,800, accounting for 42.8% of the value.
In addition, Colombia applies seasonal tariff adjustments to some commodities. In July 2025, in order to protect the local textile industry, the Colombia government temporarily raised the tariff on imported clothing from 15% to 25%, resulting in a surge in costs for a group of China clothing sellers and a sharp drop in profit margins from 25% to 8%.
3. Last mile distribution: geography and infrastructure challenges
Colombia’s terrain is complex and the Andes run through the country, resulting in high distribution costs in remote areas. In the Amazon province, for example, couriers travel through rainforests and mountains, costing $8 per package, three times as much as major cities such as Bogotá. At the same time, the street names in Colombia are chaotic, the coverage rate of GPS positioning system is less than 60%, 15% of packages are returned due to wrong address of a logistics company in 2024, and the return cost accounts for 22% of the order amount.
II. Market opportunity in Colombia: TEMU Y2 mode and “two-wheel drive” of export easy line
1. TEMU Y2 mode: Traffic bonus in semi-managed mode
In 2025, TEMU will introduce Y2 mode into Colombia, allowing sellers to choose their own logistics service providers, and at the same time provide the label of “long-term transportation half-supported goods” to obtain platform search and recommended traffic support. The data shows that the click-through rate of goods marked with this label has increased by 35% and the conversion rate has increased by 22%.
2. Export Easy Colombia Direct Line: Double Clear Package Tax and Full Controllable
Export easy to launch Colombia direct line, integration of Latin American resources, to provide “double clear package tax” service, the line uses self-owned customs clearance team, compliance delivery; at the same time, there is a self-owned tail channel bfe express, the price advantage is greater!
The growth potential of Colombia’s e-commerce market is being constrained by logistics bottlenecks. However, with the implementation of TEMU Y2 mode and export easy line, sellers can reduce logistics cost from 40% to 25% of goods value through policy compliance, resource integration and localization operation, and reduce delivery time from 60 days to 30 days.