Colombia’s coal exports fell by almost half in July compared to the same period last year, with official figures showing a dramatic 45.8 percent drop in value.

The decline comes days after President Gustavo Petro renewed a ban on sales to ‘Israel’, compounding existing pressures on the country’s leading export sector.

According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), Colombia exported $479.8 million worth of coal in July, a steep decrease from the $885.8 million sold in July 2024.

This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of contraction for the sector, which local mining unions attribute to a “global price crisis” and increased production in Indonesia that has driven down international prices.