Jamaica’s export earnings for the first quarter of the 2023 calendar year, between January and March, totalled US$527.3 million.
Figures released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) on Wednesday (July 19) show that the sum was 54.7 per cent above the US$340.9 million generated for the corresponding period in 2022.
The outturn was also US$201.9 million more than the US$325.4 million earned for January and February 2023.
A statement from STATIN indicated that increased outflows for the review period were primarily driven by a 63.9 per cent rise in ‘Mineral Fuels’ exports.
Re-exports were valued at US$91.7 million, while domestic exports, which accounted for 73.1 per cent of total outflows, increased by 32.6 per cent to US$385.5 million.
STATIN advised that domestic exports grew by 32.6 per cent to US$385.5 million between January and March, compared to US$290.7 million over the corresponding period last year.
The United States of America (USA), United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Latvia, and Russian Federation were the top five destinations for Jamaican exports.
The value of outflows to these countries climbed by 70 per cent to US$399.2 million.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s expenditure on imports between January and March totalled just over US$1.9 billion. This represented a 6.2 per cent increase on the spend for the corresponding period in 2022.
The sum was also US$708.7 million more than the US$1.19 billion spent for January and February this year.
STATIN reported that the increase for the review period was mainly due to higher imports of ‘Raw Materials/Intermediate Goods’, ‘Consumer Goods’, and Capital Goods’.
Inflows for these categories rose by 6.2 per cent, 10.9 per cent and 14.9 per cent, respectively.
The five countries from which Jamaica largely imported were the USA, People’s Republic of China, Brazil, Japan, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Jamaica’s spend on inflows from these countries totalled just over US$1.22 billion, representing a 5.8 per cent increase, relative to 2022. This was mainly due to higher imports of fuel from the USA.