Jamaica enjoyed a big drop in its trade deficit in the first 7 months of the year as the deficit declined to US$2.64 billion compared to US$2.85 million in the same period for 2012 according to the latest data put out by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
According to the Government’s agency for the collection of economic and other data, merchandise imports during January to July 2013 was valued at US$3.62 billion, a decrease of US$213 million when compared to the US$3.83 billion recorded in the similar period last year due mainly to a fall in the value of fuel imported. Earnings from total exports during review period was similar to the 2012 period both at US$978 million.
Statin sated in their release that the decline in imports was largely attributed to the decrease expenditure on “Mineral Fuels, etcetera”. Other areas showing decreases were “Machinery & Transport Equipment”, “Manufactured Goods” and “Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles”. “Mineral Fuels, etcetera” valued at US$1.28 billion, fell by US$241 million or 15.8 percent compared with the 2012 period. “Machinery & Transport Equipment” fell by US$5.3 million or 1.0 percent to US517.5 million and “Manufactured Goods” was valued at US$338 million, a decrease of US$35.3 million.
Traditional Exports | Earnings from major traditional domestic exports during the 2013 review period decreased by US$21 million to US$488 million due to the significant decline in ‘Manufacture’. Goods classified under the “Manufacture” group accounted for US$86 million, down from US$129.5 million in 2012 mainly due to the decrease in the export of ‘Sugar’ and’ Rum’. “Agriculture” group recorded an increase, earning US$17 million, as the major commodity in this group “Coffee” earned US$13.3 million compared to US$10.4 million in 2012. “Mining and Quarrying” earned US$385 million in the 2013 period.
Non-Traditional Exports | Earnings for this segment to July 2013 rose by 3 percent or US$12.8 million to US$442.4 million. “Other” non-traditional domestic exports rose by 8.1 percent to earn US$318 million. Of this amount, “Chemicals (incl. Ethanol)” earned US$99 million, an increase of US$47 million.
CARICOM | Imports from CARICOM during the first seven months was worth US$484 million but it decreased by 18.3 percent or US$108.5 million when compared to the same period in 2012. The decrease in the import bill was due mainly to lower imports of “Mineral Fuels, etcetera” as spending fell by US$120 million to US$314 million. “Manufactured Goods” recorded a value of US$13 million, down from US$15 million in 2012. Other decreases were seen in “Chemicals” and “Machinery & Transport Equipment” valued at US$15.7 million and US$6.0 million respectively. Three of the five commodity groups recording increases were “Food” valued at US$100.2 million, “Beverages & Tobacco” ( US$24.9 million) and “Misc. Manufactured Articles” ( US$8.4 million).
Total exports to Caricom declined by 3.6 percent during the review period. Domestic Exports accounted for US$33 million, and Re-exports US$6 million. The fall in domestic exports was due mainly to lower exports of “Chemicals”, which decreased by US$3.6 million or 51.0 percent to US$3.5 million and “Misc. Manufactured Articles”, which fell by 12.9 percent to US$2.2 million. However, “Food” the major export earner, increased and was valued at US$19 million, up from the US$17.5 million. Jamaica recorded a trade deficit of US$445 million with her CARICOM partners, down from US$552 million in the 2012.
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