Colombia could be open to buying Venezuela’s Monomeros -Finance Minister

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia could be open to buying Venezuelan fertilizer maker Monomeros, Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo said on Wednesday, at a time when higher fertilizer prices have contributed to inflationary pressure.

Though Monomeros is based in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, it is owned by Pequiven, which is a unit of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA.

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro regained control of Monomeros’ board of directors in mid-September, following a couple of years when it was controlled by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

“On the issue of fertilizers, I have said that we are willing to do anything, even here among us, to buy Monomeros and expand it significantly,” Ocampo said at an event with coffee growers in Colombia’s capital Bogota.

The recent changes to Monomeros’ management occurred at a time when relations between Colombia and Venezuela – particularly in economic and military cooperation – have strengthened, following the election of Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

Meanwhile, Ocampo suggested the ministry of mines and energy would reveal that Colombia’s natural gas reserves have risen to 20 years, from eight years previously.

“That gives us the enormous possibility of being fertilizer producers and even of being gas exporters, which we have never been,” Ocampo said.

(Reporting by Carlos Vargas and Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Mark Potter)