IMPORT and export values fell during the first five months of this year due to lower trade in some key commodities.

For the January to May period, trade data released by Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin) showed total imports from the country were valued at US$3.05 billion, 2.4 per cent below the US$3.13 billion recorded for the same period in 2023, largely due to lower imports of raw materials/intermediate goods and fuels and lubricants, which fell by 13.5 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively.

On the other hand, earnings from exports, which fell by 5.4 per cent, amounted to US$823.9 million, due largely to a decrease of 57.7 per cent in the value of re-exports of mineral fuels. The value for domestic exports, however, rose 10.7 per cent following a 2.3 per cent increase in exports from the manufacturing industr, supported by a 26.8 per cent increase in exports from the mining and quarrying industry.

“Earnings from domestic exports accounted for 86.8 per cent of total exports,” Statin said.

In a breakdown of the latest international merchandise trade data, noticeable decreases in the subcategories of the main divisions accounted for decreases in import over the five-month period as a result of reduced purchasing for certain items.

Under the “raw materials/intermediate goods” division, which went down by more than 13 per cent to total US$856.6 million, decreases in the value of industrial and construction supplies as well as a reduced spending on food items drove the downturns seen for overall imports.

The value of industrial supplies decreased by 15.8 per cent to US$441.1 million, due mainly to lower imports of feeding stuff for animals (not including unmilled cereals) and electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances. Similarly, a fall in imports of construction materials, which were about 20.3 per cent less than the prior year, was largely due to reduced imports of iron and steel for construction, along with non-metallic mineral manufactures.

“Spending on food (including beverages) mainly for industry fell by 18.4 per cent to US$78.8 million — and this was primarily attributed to lower imports of cereal and cereal preparations and organic chemicals,” Statin data revealed.

Tempering downturns in the main division was, however, an uptick in expenditure for parts and accessories of capital goods (except transport equipment), which increased by 18.3 per cent to total US$128.9 million.

In the “fuels and lubricants” division, which saw a decrease of 8.2 per cent, reduced imports of other fuels and lubricants were down 9.6 per cent; motor spirit down 3 per cent and ‘crude oil’ down 10.1 per cent — all relative to the comparable period. These prompted the other declines in this category.

“Total spending on consumer goods, capital goods (excluding motor cars)” and ‘transport equipment’, however, all increased and were valued at US$808.7 million, US$354.7 million and US$255.4 million, respectively,” the trade bulletin further noted.

For the period, though the United States, China, Japan, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago were named among the top import partners, total imports from these countries, valued at US$1,793.2 million, also reflected a decrease of 10.4 per cent, owing to decrease in imports of mineral fuels from the USA and Brazil.