Imports continue to outpace export growth for the first half of the year 

• For the period January to June 2022, Jamaica’s total spending on imports was valued at US$3,758.2Mn, an increase of 37.4% relative to the prior period. These higher imports were driven by the reopening of the economy, higher levels of employment driving demand for goods as well as higher inflation.
• This was mostly attributed to higher imports of “Fuels and Lubricants”, “Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods” and “Consumer Goods”, which rose by 70.7%, 28.5% and 33.8%, respectively.
• Earnings from exports amounted to US$801.0Mn which represents a 2.3% increase to the prior period. This was due primarily to a 56.6% increase in the value of exports of Mineral Fuels.
• Earnings from domestic exports accounted for 82.3% of total exports from January to June 2022, a fall of 3.3% when compared to the similar period of 2021. This was due to a 55.2% reduction in exports from the Mining and Quarrying industry as alumina exports fell by 65.5% to US$78.5 million as the Jamaclo plant was closed during the period.
• The value of imports for the period January to June 2022 from Jamaica’s five main trading partners, the United States of America (USA), Brazil, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Japan, increased by 45.0% to US$2,472.7 million. This increase was due largely to higher imports of fuel from the USA and Trinidad and Tobago likely influenced by elevated energy prices and greater local economic activity spurring demand.
• The top five destinations for Jamaica’s exports were the USA, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The value of exports to these countries increased by 30.6% to US$654.3 million due mainly to higher exports of fuels to the USA.

(Source: STATIN)