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NEWS RELEASE International Merchandise Trade Bulletin January to March 2010
July 15, 2010
The first quarter of 2010 saw Jamaica
importing goods amounting to US$1,177.5 million. Excluding the Kingston and Montego Bay Free Zone, the value of imports amounted to US$1,165.6
million. Relative to the US$1,225.1 million imported during the January to March
2009 period, the value of imports contracted by US$59.5 million or 4.9 per cent.
Total Exports for the period amounted to US$354.9 million, with total exports
(incl. Single Entity Free Zone) amounting to US$352.4 million. Of this amount,
Domestic Exports (incl. Single Entity Free Zone) amounted to US$332.6 million
with the remaining US$19.8 million being re-exports. At the end of the 2010
quarter, the total merchandise trade deficit amounted to US$822.7 million, while
the trade balance (incl. Single Entity Free Zones) was a negative US$813.2
million.
United States of America remained Jamaica’s main trading partner with US$171.4 million or
38.7 per cent of imports originating from that country. Similarly, US$68.2
million or 56.4 per cent of total exports was sent to the
United States. For the Month of March 2010, Jamaica incurred a trade balance with the United States of America
of US$103.2 million, down from US$111.7 million in March 2009.
“Mineral Fuels, Etcetera” was the primary commodity
imported, representing 33.7 per cent of imports (incl. Single Entity Free Zone).
Amounting to US$393.1 million, the value of this commodity increased by US$88.4
million or 29.0 per cent due largely to comparatively higher fuel prices.“Food” was the second largest
commodity group imported, and was valued at US$181.5 million. Accounting for
15.6 per cent of imports (incl. Single Entity Free Zone), the value of food
imports fell notably by US$44.3 million or 19.6 per cent in relation to the
value recorded for the January to March 2009 period.
“Machinery and Transport Equipment”
valued at US$158.6 million, declined by US$57.7 million, or 26.7 per cent while
“Chemicals” fell to US$132.4 million.
Imports by End-Use: Imports of “Consumer Goods
(excl. Motor Cars)” amounted to US$380.5 million, relative to the US$409.9
million recorded for the January to March 2009 period. Imports of “Raw
Materials/Intermediate Goods” increased, moving from US$653.9 million in the
2009 review period to US$673.9 million in the 2010 review period as the value of
fuel imports increased.
“Capital Goods (excl. Motor Cars)” fell notably from US$131.5 million in the
first quarter of 2009 to US$86.5 million in the first quarter of 2010. Imports
of “Passenger Motor Cars” also fell during the 2010 review period and was valued
at US$24.7 million, down from US$29.7 million.
Traditional Domestic Exports amounted to US$158.9 million in the 2010 review period,
down from US$197.7 million in the previous 2009 period. This represented a
decline of US$38.8 million or 19.6 per cent. The “Mining and Quarrying” group
declined by US$24.7 million or 17.7 per cent and was valued at US$115.1 million
as activity within the industry remained low. Exports of “Agriculture”
commodities contracted by US$4.2 million or 37.4 per cent and was valued at
US$7.0 million. The “Manufacture” group also declined in the 2010 period under
review, moving from US$46.8 million in the 2009 review period to US$36.9 million
in the current period.
Non-Traditional Domestic Export
commodities were valued at US$173.7 million and accounted
for a larger share (52.2 per cent) of domestic exports (incl. Single Entity Free
Zone) during the 2010 review period. Exports of non-traditional “Food” increased
to US$30.5 million, up from US$27.9 million in the comparable 2009 period.
Exports of “Beverages & Tobacco (excl. Rum)” declined during the 2010 review
period and was valued at US$13.3 million. “Other Non-Traditional Exports” made a notable increase in the first quarter of 2010, and was at US$123.9
million. Relative to the US$68.2 million recorded for the first quarter of 2009,
exports from this group increased by US$55.7 million or 81.7 per cent. “Mineral
Fuels etcetera” grew to US$92.8 million, from US$56.1 million in the similar
2009 period, while “Chemicals” (incl. Ethanol) increased to US$27.5 million from
US$9.4 million in the previous period.
Imports from CARICOM
for the first quarter of 2010 accounted for 13.8 per cent
of total imports (incl. Single Entity Zone) and was valued at US$161.4 million.
This represented a decline of US$5.5 million or 3.3 per cent, when compared to
the US$166.9 million recorded for 2009. The
value of non-fuel imports from CARICOM amounted to US$53.3 million, down from
US54.9 million in the comparable 2009 period. Total exports to the Region for
the January to March 2010 period was US$13.8 million, representing a decline of
US$1.5 million or 9.6 per cent. Domestic Exports to CARICOM increased to US$12.3
million and accounted for 3.7 per cent of domestic exports (incl. Single Entity
Free Zone). Re-exports to the Region declined and was valued at US$1.5 million.
The first quarter of 2010 saw
Jamaica
incurring a trade deficit of US$147.6 million with her CARICOM Partners.
Compared to the US$151.7 million recorded for the first quarter of 2009 period,
the trade deficit narrowed by US$4.1 million or 2.7 per cent.
The January to March 2010 International Merchandise Trade
Bulletin outlines additional information and may be obtained at our Distribution
Office, 7 Cecelio Avenue,
Kingston
10.
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