According to Dow Jones Newswires, Ministry of Mining director Javier Garcia said the Andean nation was eyeing a 2013 total of 94 million metric tons, down from its initial projection of 97Mt.
Production figures from Colombia, the world’s fourth-largest export country, have taken a downward turn over the last few years.
President Juan Manuel Santos, who came to power in 2010, estimated 2013 output of 100Mt and 114Mt next year.
Labor strikes, including a month-long stand-off in February at one of the nation’s largest complexes, Cerrejon, played a role in the decline.
Adding to the headache were delays in the receipt of required environmental permits for production expansions by some of Colombia’s biggest players.
One of those with environmental woes was US-based miner Drummond, which had to temporarily idle production when its sea loading license was suspended following an alleged coal dump into the sea during a vessel accident.
According to Dow Jones, several economists have cited the export stoppages for a potential impact in economic growth whole-year.
The country’s central bank estimates the impact to be about 4%.
