Manufacturing and energy in Colombia

The manufacturing industries in Colombia, stimulated in the 1950s by the establishment of high protective tariffs on imports, are generally small-scale enterprises. They primarily produce for the domestic market, and they account for 18 percent of Colombia’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is a measure of the value of all goods and services that a country produces. Cotton-spinning mills, principally in the cities of Barranquilla, Manizales, Medellín, and Samacá, rank as important manufacturing establishments. Other industries include the manufacture of foodstuffs and beverages, clothing and footwear, ceramics, tobacco products, iron and steel, and transportation equipment. Chemical products have become increasingly important.

Colombia has many hydroelectric installations, which produced 77 percent of the nation’s electricity in 2006. A drought in 1992 brought about electricity rationing in much of the country. Consequently the government initiated the construction of new thermoelectric power plants and improved natural gas distribution to urban residences. In 2006 the country’s annual output of electricity was 52 billion kilowatt-hours.

Much of the forestland of Colombia is inaccessible because of poor transportation facilities; however, the tropical forest contains many commercially valuable species including mahogany and cedar. Trees harvested in Colombia in 2007 provided 10.4 million cubic meters (369 million cubic feet) of timber. Much of the wood is used as fuel.

The coastal waters and many rivers and lakes of Colombia provide a variety of fish, notably trout, tarpon, sailfish, and tuna. The total catch in 2007 was 155,102 metric tons. About one-quarter of the annual catch consists of freshwater species of fish. Encarta