Revenues from total export was up 10.2%

For the first nine months of 2022, Jamaica’s import bill expanded by 37.1 per cent to US$5.82 billion, according to the latest International Merchandise Trade Bulletin, released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

At the same time, STATIN reports that the island’s earnings from exports went up 10.2 per cent to US$1.27 billion. Export earnings for the comparable period in 2021 US$1.15 billion while imports totalled US$4.25 billion.

The rise in imports was largely attributable to higher imports of ‘Fuels and Lubricants’, ‘Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods’ and ‘Consumer Goods’ which rose by 75.9 per cent, 30.4 per cent and 27.3 per cent, respectively. The 10.2 per cent increase in revenues from exports was due primarily to an 84.2 per cent increase in the value of exports of ‘Mineral fuels’.

Surge in re-exports

The growth in total exports was influenced by a 137.9 per cent jump in re-exports. However, domestic exports declined by 5.2 per cent, mainly due to the 55.9 per cent fall in exports from the Mining and Quarrying industry. The five main import partners for January to September 2022 were the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, China, Brazil and Japan.

Imports from these countries increased by 47.0 per cent to US$3.84 billion. This was due largely to the higher imports of fuel from the US and Trinidad and Tobago.

The top five destinations for Jamaica’s exports were the US, Puerto Rico, the Russian Federation, Canada and the United Kingdom. Exports to these countries increased by 32.7 per cent to US$978.2 million when compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

This increase was attributed to higher exports of fuel to the US.