Efforts to move the needle forward on exports are starting to bring improvements as the value of goods sold overseas climbed to US$677.5 million for the first four months of the year – 32 per cent above that of the comparable period in 2022.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) in its latest trade merchandise bulletin said that growth in the area was primarily driven by higher domestic exports and re-exports, which increased by US$72.0 million and US$92.4 million, respectively.

With government ramping up efforts and pushing a number of initiatives, including leading various trade delegations and hosting foreign investors, the end result, it said, was for the country to get more products into international markets.

Still nowhere near import figures which closed at $2.4 billion for the same period, the total earnings for domestic exports, which rose to US$513.0 million, was mainly driven by increased activities from the mining and quarrying and agriculture industries, with the export earnings up 97 per cent and 3.4 per cent, respectively.

“Exports from the mining and quarrying industry were valued at US$165.3 million, compared to US$84.0 million in the corresponding 2022 period. This was due to the 142.3 per cent rise in alumina earnings, which amounted to US$136.2 million, compared to US$56.2 million in 2022,” Statin data said.

“Earnings from the agriculture industry increased to US$27.3 million, due mainly to higher exports of yams. Exports of yams increased by 32.6 per cent to US$13.2 million, in comparison to US$10.0 million in the similar 2022 period,” the data further noted.

On the other hand, manufactured products earned US$315.5 million in the export market, but that was down 3.1 per cent from a year ago with less refine petroleum products being sold in overseas markets from Jamaica.

Still, while the overall earnings from the export of manufactured products declined, one of its subcategory food, beverages and tobacco fared much better, earning 14.5 per cent more from export markets this year compared to last year at the same time. The total earnings was US$126.4 million due largely to increased export of things like alcoholic beverages (US$23.3 million), rum (US$21.2million), sauces (US$11.6 million) and canned ackee (US$10.8 million).

Some of the key trading partners with which Jamaica exported items over the reporting period were the US, Mexico and Canada, to which it mainly sold mineral fuels valued over US$302.5 million, albeit 11 per cent below that sold for the similar period last year. Export earnings from the European Union reached US$83.3 million. So too were earnings from the region.

“Total exports to the Caricom region for the first four months of 2023 were valued at US$49.6 million, an increase of 77.4 per cent when compared to the US$28.0 million earned in the corresponding 2022 period. This was attributed primarily to higher exports of ‘food’ and ‘mineral fuels’.”

“Exports of ‘food’ were valued at US$16.1 million, an increase of 41.8 per cent, while earnings from the exports of ‘mineral fuels’ amounted to US$14.8 million, US$11.3 million above the US$3.5 million earned in the similar 2022 period,” Statin said.