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With the second highest export value recorded for a January–May period since 2010, Panama maintains one of its best export levels in the last 16 years.
The most recent report from the Commercial Intelligence Office of the Panamanian Ministry of Commerce and Industries, based on data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census, reveals that registered exports reached USD 435.4 million during the first five months of 2026.
In the same period, total exports amounted to USD 581.9 million, driven by a 16.4% growth in value-added exports from special regimes.
Although registered exports showed a decrease of USD 3.3 million (0.8%) compared to the same period in 2025, when they totaled USD 438.7 million, this result is accompanied by growth in other components of foreign trade, such as value-added exports from special regimes.
The composition of the exportable offerings also shows an evolution in the products Panama places abroad. At the tariff subheading level, frozen shrimp continue to lead exports as of May, followed by bananas, which rose from third to second place recorded the previous month.
Completing the Top 10 are teak, palm oil, sugar, medicines, metal waste, watermelons, and unroasted, non-decaffeinated coffee. Together, these ten subheadings represent 55% of the country's registered exports.
By Harmonized System chapters, the main groups of exported products were: fish and crustaceans (19.7%), fruits (13.2%), wood and wood manufactures (7.8%), fats and oils (7.6%), cast iron, iron and steel (6.7%), sugars (5.0%), pharmaceutical products (4.9%), fine pearls and precious stones (4.1%), edible meat and offal (3.0%), and coffee (2.8%).
This structure reflects a different composition than that observed a year ago, with fruits consolidating as the second export chapter, demonstrating a more diversified national offering with the participation of different productive sectors.
Regarding destination markets, the United States remains the main buyer of Panamanian products, with an 18.7% share, followed by Taiwan (13.3%), Colón Free Zone (8.4%), India (7.9%), the Netherlands (5.9%), and Costa Rica (5.2%).
The Top 10 destinations are completed by Mexico (3.4%), Mainland China (2.8%), Thailand (2.7%), and Colombia (2.1%), which displaces the United Kingdom. Together, these ten markets concentrated 70.4% of Panama's registered exports. It is worth noting that the United States also held the first place as a destination for Panamanian national shipments during the accumulated years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Value-added exports from special regimes reached USD 146.5 million, compared to USD 125.9 million recorded in the same period of 2025, representing a growth of 16.4%.
This behavior contributed to total exports increasing from USD 564.6 million in the first five months of 2025 to USD 581.9 million in the same period of 2026, an increase of USD 17.3 million, equivalent to a growth of 3.1%.
