UPDATE 1-Colombia says May trade surplus $223.1 mln

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BOGOTA, July 30 (Reuters) - Colombia's May trade surplus widened to $223.1 million from $90 million in the same month last year, the government's statistics office said on Wednesday.

The surplus was $747.7 million for the January through May period, according to a government statement that did not give a comparison figure.

May imports rose 21.5 percent to $3.36 billion versus May 2007. Imports in the first five months of the year rose 23.9 percent to $15.6 billion, the statement said.

The Andean country has attracted record foreign direct investment under popular President Alvaro Uribe. As a result, Colombia's peso COP=RR has risen 9.8 percent against the dollar over the last twelve months, encouraging imports.

Uribe was re-elected in a 2006 landslide after cutting urban crime and spurring economic growth with his U.S.-backed crackdown on drug-running leftist rebels. (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by Diane Craft)