By Alexandra Valencia
QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s mining exports in 2021 almost doubled in worth from the earlier yr to $2.09 billion, beating authorities expectations, the Ministry of Power stated on Wednesday.
President Guillermo Lasso, a conservative ex-banker, is betting on mining to diversify the nation’s revenue streams, because it struggles with restricted liquidity worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mining exports in 2021 have been “99% greater than what was exported in 2020, when a price of $1.05 billion was registered,” the ministry stated in an announcement.
The federal government initially projected that mining exports could be price $1.6 billion final yr.
The 2021 determine locations mining because the nation’s fourth largest supply of export revenue behind oil, bananas and shrimp.
Oil costs on worldwide markets have recovered strongly from a collapse in demand on the peak of pandemic lockdowns in 2020, and different commodities have additionally rebounded as economies the world over have gathered tempo.
Ecuador has important mineral assets, however has lagged regional opponents Peru and Chile in large-scale mine improvement.
Large useful resource firms, together with Chinese language consortium CRCC-Tongguan and Canada’s Lundin Gold, function in Ecuador, however many mining initiatives have confronted neighborhood opposition, together with occupation by casual miners.
The federal government expects three new initiatives within the centre of the nation to lift the worth of mining exports to $4 billion by 2025, Wednesday’s assertion stated.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; modifying by Barbara Lewis)
Supply: KFGO
