Colombian coal industry association Fenalcarbon said on Wednesday the country’s annual production could return to 90-million tons by 2030 if certain steps are taken, up from the group’s 2026 production forecast of 53-million metric tons.
The group said the increase would require changes in taxation, freight and port costs, licensing and controls on illegal mining.
Colombia last produced more than 90-million tons of coal in 2016 and was close again in 2017 with 89.4-million tons.
Colombia ranks among the world’s five largest coal exporters, with between 90% and 95% of national output destined for international markets. But restrictions under former President Gustavo Petro – who was replaced earlier this month by President Abelardo De La Espriella – and a decline in international prices saw exports fall 31% year-on-year to $4.9-billion last year.
“We expect a completely different approach from the new government, one that understands the importance of coal and coke in generating income for the country, and that this tax strangulation promoted over the last four years comes to an end,” Fenalcarbon President Carlos Cante told reporters.
“The moment conditions align, Colombia can certainly return to 90-million tons within three or four years.”
The new government will review some 330 decrees issued by the previous administration that affect the country’s mining and power-generation industries, Energy Vice Minister Luis Francisco Madrinan said at the group’s event.
“We are looking at all the coal operators we have in the country and evaluating options to make Colombia competitive again,” he said.
Among the measures to be scrapped is Petro’s ban on coal exports to Israel, he added.
