Jamaica’s import rises as exports fall January-February 2025
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Durrant Pate/Contributor
Jamaica witnessed a marginal rise in imports during the first two months of 2025, as exports for the same period fell sharply.
For the January to February 2025, Jamaica’s total spending on imports was valued at US$1.32 billion while earnings from total exports were valued at US$306.2 million, as measured by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the country’s national statistics agency.
The value of imports rose 1.9 per cent for the review period compared to US$.29 billion spent for January to February 2024. This was driven by increased imports of Raw Material/Intermediate Goods and Consumer Goods, which increased by 6.2 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively.
At the same time, total exports fell by 8.9 per cent compared to the US$335.9 million earned in the similar 2024 period. This decline was due to a 41.0 per cent contraction in the value of exports of Mineral Fuels.
MAIN TRADING PARTNERS
The five main import partners for January to February 2025 were the United States of America (USA), China, Brazil, Nigeria and Colombia. Expenditure on imports of goods from these countries increased by 9.3 per cent to US$855.0 million.
This increase was due largely to a rise in imports of Mineral Fuels. The top five destinations for Jamaica’s exports were the USA, the Russia Federation, Iceland, Canada and France.
Export revenues from these countries increased by 11.7 per cent to US$233.0 million due primarily to an increase in expenditure on exports of Crude Materials.
KEY TRADING BLOCS
The value of imports under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) increased by 8.6 per cent to US$543.9 million. In contrast, expenditure on imports from the European Union (EU) and CARICOM
countries declined by 28.2 per cent and 2.3 per cent, amounting to US$78.0 million and US$67.8 million, respectively. The value of exports to the USMCA and CARICOM increased by 7.4 per cent and 6.0 per cent, respectively, while the value of export to the European Union declined by 8.2 per cent.
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