Buenaventura per-ton charge: what it adds to a container and which cargo feels it most

The Buenaventura per-ton charge is set at COP 4,235 under District Decree 0338 of August 26, 2026, issued by the city administration. It applies to every metric ton moved in heavy cargo vehicles to or from the district’s port terminals, and it will be adjusted each year with CPI. According to the decree, the revenue will fund mobility and infrastructure projects tied to heavy cargo traffic, including maintenance and repair of urban roads. The Ministry of Transport, the National Coffee Growers Federation, Fenavi (the poultry federation), Colfecar (the road cargo federation), Defencarga and Fedetranscol have already asked for a review. We could not find a confirmed start date.

What the Buenaventura per-ton charge adds to an operation

A tractor-trailer carrying 30 metric tons would pay COP 127,050 more per trip, according to Colfecar and Fedetranscol. For containers and coffee, these are the numbers at the same rate:

Cargo	Weight	Added charge
Tractor-trailer	30 metric tons	COP 127,050 per trip
20-foot container	20 metric tons	COP 84,700
20-foot container of coffee (275 bags of 70 kg)	19.25 metric tons	About COP 81,500
70 kg coffee bag	70 kg	About COP 296

The values in the table are estimates based on net weight and are not final figures. If the decree is applied to gross weight, the numbers go up slightly.

Per operation it is small. The total is another matter: Defencarga estimates that 1.6 million metric tons enter and leave through Buenaventura each month, which would mean about COP 7 billion (7,000 million pesos) a month and more than COP 79 billion a year for the sector.

It charges by weight, not by value

A flat rate per ton weighs more on cheap, heavy cargo. Bulk commodities are the clearest case. According to Fenavi, 3.07 million metric tons of yellow corn, soybeans and soybean meal came in through Buenaventura in 2025, worth US$880 million, or roughly US$287 per ton (our calculation from its figures). Applied to that volume, the charge would have added more than COP 13 billion.

That supply chain also has few immediate alternatives. In 2025, 74.3% of imports of those raw materials bound for Valle del Cauca and Cauca arrived through Buenaventura, according to Fenavi. The poultry sector in the southwest is the one closest to the surcharge.

Coffee is in a different position. The Coffee Growers Federation reports that 60.2% of 2026 exports have left through this port, and it describes the charge as added pressure on export costs. Per bag it comes to about COP 296, which a product of that value absorbs without difficulty. For anyone exporting or importing high-value containerized cargo, the direct effect is just as small.

The cost that matters most is not in the decree

Colfecar counted 17 blockades on the road to Buenaventura between January and May 2026, and in February traffic jams of up to 25 kilometers were reported on the approach to the port. Fenavi places the main risk for Valle producers in the loss of corridor reliability, more than in the value of the charge.

Who pays first

The trucking company pays first, and whether it reaches the client depends on how the inland freight was agreed. With a fixed annual rate, absorbing the charge strains the contract. With itemized charges, passing it on is more direct. It is likely that carriers will try to reflect it in their rates, especially since Colfecar has already pointed to possible duplication with the Loboguerrero toll and the national surtax on ACPM diesel, both of which also fund roads.

What remains unresolved

• The start date is not confirmed. Colfecar asked to suspend collection while a consultation panel is set up and the decree is reviewed.
• Colfecar also asked for the 2024 technical, financial and mobility study, and for an explanation of why, if the goal is congestion, the charge is calculated by tons.
• The federation noted that the main routes belong to the national government (ANI and Invías) and that access to Aguadulce falls under the Valle del Cauca governorate, so using district funds there would require specific legal instruments.
• Senator Christian Garcés called the decree possibly illegal and said his legal team is reviewing it.

Will cargo shift?

Fenavi warns that adding costs may encourage cargo to move to other ports. Buenaventura has already lost ground: its share of yellow corn, soybean and soybean meal imports fell from 53% in 2011 to about 32% in 2025.

Caribbean ports would be the natural candidates to absorb volume. But for cargo bound for the southwest, the inland trip from there is considerably longer, and a surcharge of COP 4,235 per ton is unlikely to offset that on its own. What can move routing decisions is the combination of the charge, blockades and uncertainty that Fenavi describes. From our offices in Buenaventura and Cartagena, we are watching closely for any change.

At Fenix we are following the start date, any suspension, and how carriers adjust their inland rates. Based on what has been published so far, the Buenaventura per-ton charge adds little per operation. The numbers that change a routing decision are still the ones that measure time.

Sources

• El Colombiano: polémica en puerto de Buenaventura por nuevo cobro de $4.235 por tonelada (in Spanish)
• El País: crece rechazo a nuevo cobro para el transporte de carga en Buenaventura (in Spanish)
• Vanguardia: Fenavi alerta por nuevo cobro a la carga que se movilice por Buenaventura (in Spanish)
• La República: Colfecar advirtió que en el año ya van 17 bloqueos en vía a Buenaventura (in Spanish)
• La República: hay trancones de tractomulas de hasta 25 km para entrar al puerto de Buenaventura (in Spanish)