Imports continues to grow faster than exports in Jamaica, says STATIN
/ Our Today
administratorValue of exports went pass the US$783.2 million earned in the similar 2021
Durrant Pate/Contributor
For the first half of the year, Jamaica’s imports grew faster than exports, according to the latest International Merchandise Trade Bulletin released yesterday (October 18) by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
Imports grew by 37.4 per cent when compared to the same period in 2021 while exports rose by 2.3 per cent over last year. For January-June this year, imports were valued at US$3.75 billion, while earnings from exports amounted to US$801.0 million.
STATIN reports that the increase in imports for the period was due to higher imports of ‘Fuels and Lubricants’ (70.7%), ‘Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods’ (28.5%) and ‘Consumer Goods’ (33.8%), while the value of total exports went past the US$783.2 million earned in 2021. The marginal increase in exports was due primarily to a 56.6 per cent rise in the value of exports of ‘Mineral Fuels’.
The earnings from domestic exports accounted for 82.3 per cent of total exports from January to June 2022, representing a fall of 3.3 per cent when compared to US$659.6 million in the similar 2021 period. This was due to a 55.2 per cent reduction in exports from the Mining and Quarrying industry as alumina exports fell by 65.5 per cent to US$78.5 million.
Jamaica’s main trading partners
The value of imports from Jamaica’s five main trading partners for the period, the United States of America (USA), Brazil, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Japan, increased by 45.0 per cent to US$2.47 billion. This increase was due largely to higher imports of fuel from the USA and Trinidad and Tobago.
The top five destinations for Jamaica’s exports were the USA, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The value of exports to these countries increased by 30.6 per cent to US$654.3 million due mainly to higher exports of fuels to the USA.
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