Colombia's coal exports slump as prices fall, Israel ban bites

Colombia’s coal exports plunged nearly 46% in July from a year earlier, official data showed Wednesday, hit by a global price downturn and the government’s ban on sales to Israel.

The country shipped $479.8 million worth of coal last month, down from $885.8 million in July 2024, according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics. Colombia is Latin America’s largest coal producer, but the sector has now contracted for five straight quarters.

Mining unions say increased output from Indonesia has depressed global prices. The downturn comes as President Gustavo Petro tightens restrictions on the industry, including renewed measures to halt exports to Israel in protest of its military campaign in Gaza. Colombia had previously been Israel’s main coal supplier.

Petro, who has vowed to shift the country toward renewable energy, has also raised taxes on coal, blocked new mining projects, and promoted agriculture and tourism as alternative sources of jobs and revenue. Roughly 350,000 Colombians are employed in mineral exploration.

But mining towns warn of deepening hardship. “The government wants to end mining … but they don’t think about us,” said Jorge Noriega, a 60-year-old miner in Tausa, 80 kilometers from Bogotá.

Industry giants are also retrenching. El Cerrejón, Colombia’s biggest coal mine operated by Glencore, announced in March it would halve production due to high costs.