UPDATE 1-Colombia has April trade deficit vs yr-ago surplus

(Adds export data, background)

BOGOTA, July 3 (Reuters) - Colombia posted a trade deficit of $106.4 million in April versus a surplus of $183 million in the same month last year, the government said on Friday.

Colombian exports slumped 27.7 percent in April from the same month last year to $2.42 billion, according to a statement from the government's statistics department.

International demand for commodities produced in Colombia has been sapped by the global economic slowdown.

Exports from the Andean country fell 17.3 percent in the first four months of the year to $9.94 billion, versus the same 2008 period, the department said.

The country's trade deficit was $117.5 million in the January-April period versus a surplus of $524.7 million in the first four months of 2008. (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by James Dalgleish)