of other crops. Annual production of principal cash crops in addition to coffee are cacao beans (47,300 metric tons), sugarcane (32.8 million), tobacco (28,700), cotton (102,200), bananas, and cut flowers. Chief food crops are rice (1.8 million), cassava (1.8 million), potatoes (515,800),and plantains. Plants producing pita, sisal, and hemp fibers, used in the manufacture of cordage and coarse sacking material, are also cultivated. In 1997 the livestock population included 26.3 million cattle, 2.5 million hogs, 2.4 million sheep, and 2.5 million horses.BForestry and Fishing Much of the forestland of Colombia is inaccessible because of poor transportation facilities, or contains trees of relatively little value. The cut of roundwood in Colombia in 1995 was 20.5 million cu m (724 million cu ft). 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 1995 was 146,400 metric tons. About one-quarter of the annual catch consists of freshwater species of fish.CMining Petroleum and gold are Colombia's chief mineral products. A number of other minerals are extracted, including silver, emeralds, platinum, copper, nickel, coal, and natural gas. The petroleum operations are under control of a national petroleum company and several foreign-owned concessions. Production of crude petroleum is centered in the Magdalena River valley, about 650 km (about 400 mi) from the Caribbean, and in the region between the Cordillera Oriental and Venezuela; it amounted to 228 million barrels in 1996. Much of Colombia's oil is shipped to Curaao for refining. New oil reserves discovered about 200 km (about 125 mi) east of Bogot are expected to provide Colombia with energy self-sufficiency into the 21st century, with annual extraction from the reserves of 180 million barrels anticipated by the late 1990s. Colombia is one of the world's leading exp...
