Domestic exports recorded a 7.7% decline to value US$865.4 million

Durrant Pate/Contributor

For the period January to August 2022, Jamaica’s imports continue to move faster than exports based on the latest International Merchandise Trade (IMT) data released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).

The IMT for August 2022 shows Jamaica’s total spending on imports valuing at US$5.18 billion and while earnings from exports totaled US$1.09 billion. Expenditure on imports for the period increased by 37.9 per cent when compared to the same period in 2021.

This increase was largely attributable to higher imports of ‘Fuels and Lubricants’, ‘Raw Materials /Intermediate Goods’ and ‘Consumer Goods’, which rose by 73.7 per cent, 30.2 per cent and 29.5 per cent, respectively. The US$1.09 billion earned from total exports represents an increase of 3.6 per cent when compared to the US$1.05 billion earned in the similar 2021 period.

The increase in exports was due primarily to a 72.0 per cent increase in the value of exports of “Mineral Fuels”. This growth in total exports was due chiefly to an increase in re-exports which increased by 93.9 per cent to US$228.9 million.

MAIN TRADING PARTNERS

Domestic exports, on the other hand, recorded a decline of 7.7 per cent to value US$865.4 million, largely due to the 60.3 per cent fall in exports from the Mining and Quarrying industry.

The five main import partners for January to August 2022 were the United States, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, China, and Japan. Expenditure on imports from these countries accounted for 66.2 per cent of total imports.

Total expenditure on imports from these countries were valued at US$3.43 billion, an increase of 48.6 per cent, when compared to US$2.31 billion recorded in the similar period for 2021. 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 31.9 per cent to US$875.4 million.

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