Durrant Pate/Contributor

Both Jamaica’s imports and exports went down, with the country’s international trade deficit contracting to US$4.3 billion, according to the latest international merchandise trade (IMT) statistics for October 2024.

Macroeconomic IMT trends, released on Wednesday (February 26) by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), show that for January to October 2024, the country’s total spending on imports was valued at US$6.13 billion, while earnings from total exports were valued at US$1.50 billion.

This resulted in an international trade deficit of US$4.3 billion, coming down from US$4.65 billion for the corresponding period in 2024. 

The value of imports declined by 3.4 per cent for the current review period when compared to US$6.35 billion spent from January to October 2023. This decline was attributable to lower imports of ‘Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods’ and ‘Fuels and Lubricant’, which fell by 11.0 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively. 

Exports down 11.8%

Total exports for January – October 2024 declined by 11.8 per cent below the US$1,70 billion earned in the similar 2023 period. This decline was primarily due to a 61.5 per cent decrease in the value of re-exports, which amounted to US$158.4 million. 

In contrast, domestic exports increased by 4.0 per cent to US$1.34 billion. Jamaica’s five main import partners for January to October 2024 were the United States, China, Brazil, Japan and Colombia. 

Expenditure on imports of goods from these countries fell by 5.1 per cent to US$3.71 billion when compared to US$3.90 billion recorded for the corresponding period in 2023. This decrease was due largely to an 8.0 per cent decline in ‘Mineral Fuels’ imports. 

The top five destinations for goods from Jamaica were the US, Russian Federation, Iceland, Netherlands and Canada. Revenue from exports to these countries rose by 10.4 per cent to US$1.0825 billion as a result of higher expenditure on exports of ‘Crude Materials’. 

Exports of ‘crude materials’ increased in value by 61.9 per cent.