How much Panama exports
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI), registered goods exports totalled 980.1 million balboas in 2025, 1.6% more than in 2024 and the highest annual level of the 2010-2025 period. With value-added exports from free zones and special regimes, the figure rises to 1,292.6 million.
The comparison with services puts the figure in context: the Panama Canal, the ports, banking and tourism generate income in the tens of billions. Goods exports are small in proportion, but they are the indicator that measures the country’s productive capacity outside the service sector.
What Panama sells
| Product | Share of 2025 total |
|---|---|
| Frozen shrimp | 13.3% |
| Crude palm oil | 7.7% |
| Bananas | 7.5% |
| Fish and crustaceans (full chapter) | 22.2% |
| Fruit (full chapter) | 11.3% |
| Fats and oils | 10.7% |
| Iron and steel | 6.5% |
| Pharmaceutical products | 4.3% |
| Prepared animal feed | 4.3% |
The most visible change of the last decade is the changing of the guard at the top: bananas, for decades the leading export, have given up first place to farmed shrimp. Pharmaceuticals and steel show that industrial exports are beginning, still on a small scale.
Who Panama sells to
| Destination | Share of 2025 total |
|---|---|
| United States | 15.0% |
| Taiwan | 12.8% |
| Colón Free Zone | 7.7% |
| Netherlands | 7.4% |
| Mexico, China, India, Costa Rica, Cuba and Thailand | Complete 69.7% with the above |
Taiwan in second place is explained by shrimp and fish. The Netherlands is the gateway for bananas and pineapples into Europe. The Colón Free Zone counts as a destination because sales from Panamanian fiscal territory into the free zone are recorded as exports.
What it means for investors
- Agro-industry and aquaculture are the export sectors with the most volume and sustained growth.
- Free trade agreements with the United States, the European Union, Central America, Taiwan, Singapore and others give preferential access to those markets.
- Special regimes (Colón Free Zone, Panamá Pacífico, EMMA) concentrate the industrial and logistics value added that does not appear in the registered figure.
Frequently asked questions
What is Panama’s main export product?
Frozen shrimp, with 13.3% of 2025 exports, followed by palm oil (7.7%) and bananas (7.5%).
Who is Panama’s main trading partner?
The United States, which received 15% of goods exports in 2025. Taiwan was the second destination with 12.8%.
How much did Panama export in 2025?
980.1 million balboas in registered exports, the highest level since 2010, and 1,292.6 million including value-added exports from special regimes.
Related articles
- How Panama’s economy works
- Panama’s special regimes: Colón Free Zone, Panamá Pacífico, SEM and EMMA
- The Panama Canal as an economic engine
Sources
- MICI, Panama closes 2025 with an export performance marked by product diversification, February 2026.
- National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), foreign trade.
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