Merchandise imports recorded significant growth in value during the second quarter of 2021 as the economy slowly rebounded from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest available data from the Economics and Statistics Office showed imports worth $310.87 million during the period, an increase of 47.3% year on year.
In the first half of last year, goods worth $599.5 million were brought to the islands, 18.3% more than during the first six month of 2020, which included the start of the pandemic in March of that year.
Imports jumped across most categories. Machinery and transport equipment, such as road vehicles, electrical and industrial machinery and equipment, increased by 75.4%, followed by materials like iron, steel and cement, which went up by 73.8%.
Food imports, in particular meat, vegetables and fruit, eggs, fish and dairy products, were 20.4% higher, while the value of beverages and tobacco brought to the islands increased by 58.6%.
Petroleum imports saw both a higher volume of most major fuels, such as motor oil and diesel fuel, and a higher average price during the period. As a result, the value of petroleum-related imports more than doubled compared to the lockdown quarter from April to June 2020.
In contrast, imports of commodities declined by $24.54 million relative to the second quarter of 2020, as a result of a drop in imports of gold by $28.4 million for the quarter ending June 2021.
The vast majority, 81.3%, of the $599.5 million in goods imported during the first six months of 2021 came from the United States.
The next largest source markets for imports were Jamaica (3.5%) and the United Kingdom (2.8%).
Related Videos
