Jamaica’s Trade Deficit Widens

• Jamaica’s trade deficit at the end of the January to November 2018 stood at US$4,082.9Mn, 7.6% above the US$3,796.3Mn which was recorded for the similar review period in 2017 according to the International Merchandise Trade (IMT) Bulletin release by (STATIN).

 

• Expenditure on imports amounted to US$5,681.3Mn for the current review period, 12.8% higher than the US$5,038.0Mn spent in the similar period in 2017. Revenue from total exports was valued at US$1,598.4Mn, an increase of 28.7% when compared to the US$1,241.7Mn which was recorded one year prior.

 

• Expenditure on imports from the United States of America (USA) - Jamaica’s main trading partner – was valued at US$2,536.5Mn for the current 2018 review period, an increase of 14.4%. Earnings from total exports to the USA amounted to US$528.3Mn, an increase of 7.7%. This resulted in the trade deficit with the USA increasing by 16.4%, from US$1,725.6Mn in 2017 to US$1,008.2Mn in the 2018 period under review.

(Source: STATIN)