Chile imported 969,000 mt of coal in March, down 21% from the same month last year, Energy Ministry data showed Thursday.
The monthly figure marked an increase of 6.9% from February.
Chile's suppliers in the month were Colombia (636,000 mt), Australia (241,000 mt) and the US (92,000 mt).
Imports during the first three months of the year totaled 2.675 million mt, down 7.2% from a year earlier.
The drop in imports comes amid slowing demand from the country's coal-fired power plants.
Coal-fired generation during the first three months of the year totaled 7,194 GWh, down 9.7% from a year earlier, as the fuel lost ground to LNG.
Chile exported 165,000 mt of coal to Spain in March from the Mina Invierno mine owned by Empresas Copec and the Ultramar shipping group.
The export marks a return to European markets after a long absence. In February the company shipped 168,000 mt of coal to India, a regular client.
