Jamaica spends five times more on imports than it earned from exports in January – STATIN
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The information was released on Thursday by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
“The value of imports declined by 6.1 per cent when compared to US$689.5 million in 2024,” STATIN said. This was due to a decline in imports of fuels and lubricants, capital goods (excluding motor cars) and transport equipment which fell by 34.2 per cent, 15.0 per cent and 11.1 per cent, respectively.
Revenue from total exports for January was 15.2 per cent lower than the US$158.3 million earned in the similar 2024 period. “This decline was attributable to a 50.2 per cent fall in the value of mineral fuels,” said STATIN. It added that “conversely, domestic exports increased by 2.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2024”.
Jamaica’s main trading partners for January 2025 were the United States of America (USA), China, Nigeria, Colombia and Japan. Expenditure on imports of goods from these countries increased by 9.6 per cent to US$398.2 million, representing an increase of 9.6 per cent when compared to the US$363.3 million recorded in the same period of 2024. This increase was due largely to a 1.1per cent rise in imports of mineral fuels.
The top five destinations for Jamaica’s exports were the USA, the Russia Federation, Iceland, the Cayman Islands and the United Kingdom. Export revenues from these countries increased by 9.3 per cent to US$115.8 million primarily due to a 31.0 per cent increase in the value of exports of crude materials.
