KINGSTON, Jamaica-Jamaica recorded an 8.6 per cent decline in export earnings during the January to November 2024 period.

The decline is measured against the US$1,862.8 million the country earned during the comparable period in 2023.

This is according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), in its latest international trade merchandise bulletin released on Wednesday.

“This decline was primarily due to a 63.2 per cent decrease in the value of re-exports, which was valued at US$168.0 million during the review period,” said STATIN.

Of note is that on the converse, domestic exports increased by 9.2 per cent to US$ 1,534.5 million, due to a 30.5 per cent rise in exports from the mining and quarrying industry during the period.

“The main contributor to this increase was a 41.2 per cent rise in alumina earnings, which moved to US$607.2 million from US$430.1 million in 2023,” STATIN said.

Meanwhile, the value of imports declined by 4.0 per cent during the 11-month period, when compared to the US$6,982.0 million spent in the comparable period in 2023.

“This decrease was attributable to lower imports of raw materials/intermediate goods and fuels and lubricant, which fell by 10.5 per cent and 7.9 per cent, respectively,” said the institute.

It shared that Jamaica’s total spending on imports was valued at US$6,700.9 million during the period, while earnings from total exports were valued at US$1,702.4 million.

Jamaica imported goods mainly from the United States of America (USA), China, Brazil, Japan and Colombia during the period under review.

Expenditure on imports from these countries fell by 5.6 per cent to US$4,042.1 million, compared to US$4,282.1 million recorded for the corresponding 2023 period.

STATIN said the decrease was due largely to a 15.0 per cent decline in imports of mineral fuels.

The top five destinations for Jamaica’s exports were the USA, the Russian Federation, the Netherlands, Iceland and Canada.

Revenue from export to these countries rose by 17.5 per cent to US$1,251.6 million.

This increase was due to higher expenditure on exports of crude materials, the value of which increased by 62.0 per cent when compared to the similar 2023 period.