Jamaica spending on imports drops; so too did earnings from exports
/ Our Today
administrator
Both Jamaica’s total spending on imports and earnings from exports declined but the contraction in exports was more severe than the contraction in imports.
The latest International Merchandise Trade (IMT) Bulletin shows Jamaica’s total spending on imports for January 2026 was valued at US$573.1 million, representing an 11.5 per cent decline down from the US$647.6 million recorded in January 2025.
The decrease was mainly driven by lower imports of Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods (-12.3%), Consumer Goods (-10.9 %) and Fuels and Lubricants (-30.7 %).
Earnings from total exports for January 2026 were valued at US$114.8 million, representing a 14.4 per cent decline from the US$134.1 million earned in January 2025.
The IMT for January 2026, published by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) shows that this movement was driven by a 34.9 per cent fall in the value of Crude Materials (Excl. Fuels).
Main Trading Partners
The five main trading partners for the period were the United States of America (USA), China, Brazil, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago and Germany. Expenditure on imports of goods from these countries amounted to US$379.0 million, a 0.3 per cent increase when compared to US$378.0 million spent in 2025.
The top five destinations for Jamaica’s exports were the USA, the Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman Islands and Singapore. Revenue from exports to these countries declined by 3.1 per cent to US$94.2 million in January 2026.
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