Jamaica had an International Merchandise Trade deficit YTD July 2024

  • For the period January to July 2024, Jamaica’s spending on imports totalled US$4.35Bn, while the country earned approximately US$1.09Bn from exports, according to new data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
  • This marks a 2% reduction in import spending compared to the same period in 2023 when Jamaica spent US$4.44Bn. The drop in the value of imports was mainly due to lower imports of Fuels and Lubricants and Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods, which fell by 4.2%, and 12.1%, respectively.
  • On the export side, Jamaica's earnings fell by 9.8% from last year, moving from US$1.21Bn to US$1.09Bn, due to a sharp drop in re-exports1 of Mineral Fuels, which fell by 67.4%. Notwithstanding, domestic exports (goods made in Jamaica) increased by 5.8%, totalling US$961.9Bn while earnings from re-exports declined to US$128.7Mn.
  • Jamaica’s top five import markets during the period were the United States, China, Brazil, Japan, and Trinidad and Tobago. However, import spending from these countries fell by about 3.3% to $2.64Bn, primarily due to a 7.3% decrease in fuel (mineral) imports.
  • On the other hand, Jamaica's biggest export markets included the United States, Iceland, Russia, the Netherlands, and Canada. Export revenue from these markets rose by 17.8% to US$765.1Mn, largely because of a significant increase in the value of crude materials being sold abroad, which went up by 67.2%.
  • The net effect of a larger export side decline over the period translated to a deficit of roughly US$3.26Bn in the Merchandise Trade Balance segment of Jamaica’s current account (CA).
  • That said, according to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), the CA of the balance of payments amounted to a surplus of 1.0% and 0.6% of GDP, for both the March and June 2024 quarters respectively, before recording a deficit of 0.8% of GDP for the September 2024 quarter. Still, the BOJ expects that notwithstanding the deterioration in the merchandise trade balance amid higher consumer and capital goods imports, there will be a CA surplus in FY25 and FY26. However, these surpluses of 0.5% and 1.5% respectively are expected to be lower than the 3.1% surplus for FY24.

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1The export of imported goods, typically after they have undergone further processing or manufacture.

(Sources: STATIN & BOJ)