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What Jamaica Exports
Jamaica's Main Exports and Trade Partners

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bananas_for_export_trade_board_govWhat Jamaica Exports | Bananas Preparing for exportation | (Photo:tradeboard.gov.jm)

by Sheree-Anita Shearer | Associate Writer

If you ask, what is Jamaica’s greatest imports, the answers you will often get are Reggae music, Bob Marley, and our track and field stars. However, Jamaica does have goods and services that other countries need to import for use there.

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Even though Jamaica now depends more on tourism than exports, exported goods and services still account for a considerable percentage of Jamaica’s exports.

This is often time because they are unable to produce the item at all for themselves. But it could also be because they are unable to produce enough or, as quickly as it is needed in the country.

What are Jamaica's main imports and exports?

Jamaica’s history in export began with the slave trade where fruits, sugar and their by-products were brought back to England for sale after the enslaved persons taken from Africa were let off throughout the Caribbean.

Jamaica’s main exports include alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals and mineral fuels. Our main export partners are the US, Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Our main imports are food and other consumer goods, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, industrial suppliers, construction materials, transport equipment and machinery. Some of our primary sources of imports are US, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Brazil.

Jamaica imports a significant number of products as we are unable to manufacture many of these items ourselves.

What food does Jamaica export?

Jamaica exports many food items including vegetables, pulses, herbs and spices (including pimento allspice), fruits, roots and tubers.

Sugar, coffee and banana remain our most exported foods. A significant per cent of Jamaica’s coffee production is exported to Japan.

Who are Jamaica’s main export partners?

Though these countries are not Jamaica’s export partners, the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Russia are the main countries we export to.

What does Jamaica export to Russia?

While our imports from Russia heavily outweighs our export to the country, we do have a few items that we trade with them such as; hard liquor, coffee, and aluminium oxide.

We in turn import many products from them. The long list includes:

  1. Organic chemicals
  2. Miscellaneous chemical products
  3. Stone
  4. Plaster
  5. Fertilizers
  6. Soaps
  7. Lubricants
  8. Waxes
  9. Candles
  10. Modelling pastes
  11. Mineral fuels
  12. Oils
  13. Distillation products
  14. Ceramic products
  15. Inorganic chemicals
  16. precious metal compound
  17. Isotope
  18. Vehicles
  19. Beverages
  20. Spirits and vinegar
  21. Tobacco and manufactures tobacco substitutes
  22. Electronic equipment
  23. Machinery
  24. Nuclear reactors
  25. Boilers
  26. Clothing and textiles
  27. Plastics
  28. Glass and glassware
  29. Footwear
  30. Rubbers
  31. Iron and steel
  32. Toys
  33. Sports equipment
  34. Medical apparatus
  35. Furniture
  36. Lighting signs
  37. Prefabricated buildings
  38. Leather
  39. Harness
  40. Clocks and watches
  41. Aluminium
  42. Paper and paperboard

You are probably wondering how Jamaica exports alumina but imports aluminium. Well, Jamaica is not able to widely manufacture aluminium and as such it must be imported. This means aluminium products such as foil, pans and cans are usually imported.

What does Jamaica export to Japan?

I have already mentioned coffee, but Jamaica also exports cocoa, alcoholic beverages, records and compact discs, sauces and spices.

Where does Jamaica export sugar to?

Not only does Jamaica export sugar and sugar confectionery to the countries on the American and European continents but also to countries within the Caribbean region as well. Jamaica currently exports cane sugar and sugar products to the USA, United Kingdom, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname, Canada, Barbados, Cayman Islands, France and the Bahamas.

What does Jamaica export to the USA?

Being one of Jamaica’s main trading partners, many of the products here are sent to the US. Bananas, citrus, coffee, pimento, peppers, cocoa, sugar, rum, bauxite, alumina and gypsum. In some cases, by-products of these products are exported to the US.

Does Jamaica import more than export?

Because of the size and financial constraints in Jamaica, we do import more than we can export which is one of the leading causes of the high cost of living on the island. Exported goods and services account for approximately 37.9% of the GDP while the import percentage is a daunting 52.07%.

There have been many calls and attempts to lower our imports by cultivating some of these goods for ourselves, but we have yet to make a significant dent in our reliance on imported products.

Naturally, our domestic food security is cause for concern and we remain vulnerable to global supply chain issues.

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References & Sources For What Jamaica Exports

  1. The economy of jamaica (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Jamaica (Accessed: October 13, 2022).
  2. Jamaica (JAM) exports, imports, and trade partners (no date) OEC. Available at: https://oec.world/en/profile/country/jam (Accessed: October 13, 2022).
  3. Jamaica - Agriculture (no date) Encyclopedia of the Nations. Available at: https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Jamaica-AGRICULTURE.html#:~:text=Blue%20Mountain%20coffee%2C%20which%20is,%2C%20peppers%2C%20and%20cut%20flowers. (Accessed: October 13, 2022).
  4. Jamaica imports from russia2022 data 2023 forecast 1992-2020 historical (no date) Jamaica Imports from Russia - 2022 Data 2023 Forecast 1992-2020 Historical. Available at: https://tradingeconomics.com/jamaica/imports/russia (Accessed: October 13, 2022).
  5. Jamaica: Imports and exports: World: Sugars and sugar confectionery: Value (US$) and value growth, you (%): 2008 - 2019 (2021) TrendEconomy. Available at: https://trendeconomy.com/data/h2/Jamaica/17 (Accessed: October 13, 2022).

What Jamaica Exports | Written: October 14, 2022

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