Cayman imports hit $415 million in third quarter of 2024

Cayman imported more than $415 million worth of goods in the third quarter of last year, the latest figures have shown.

The Economics and Statistics Office said the figure for July to September 2024 was 9.1% up compared with the $389.7 million recorded in the same period the previous year.

Officials said the change reflected a 16.2% jump in the value of petroleum-related imports, as well as an 8% increase in the value of non-petroleum goods.

Imports of drinks, including alcohol, and tobacco went up by 6.1% to $13.8 million over the period.

More alcoholic drinks were brought in, but soft drinks, such as mineral and aerated water, showed a decline. Imports of tobacco and tobacco products on their own went up by 46.9% over the three-month period.

There were also big increases in the importation of manufactured goods classified mostly by material, which includes metal, rubber and items made of cork and wood.

But iron and steel imports fell by almost a third (31.2%), and paper and paperboard and paper pulp goods fell by 11.4%. ‘Non-metallic mineral manufactures’ – such as semi-precious stones and pearls – dropped by 6.4%.

The ‘food and live animals’ category crept up by 1.1% to $65.5 million and chemicals and related products increased by 1.3% to $31.3 million, but imports of machinery and transport equipment dropped by 4.8% to $75 million.

Statisticians also found that imports from the US, Japan, Jamaica and Germany went up over the quarter, as did those from South Korea and Switzerland.

But imports from the UK, Cuba and Mexico dropped.

The value of US imports went up 5% ($15.7 million) over the quarter to $328.8 million, which reflected increased amounts of gold, metal goods, clothes and non-ferrous metals brought to Cayman.

Imports from Jamaica went up 24.6%, from $12.63 million to $15.7 million, over the three months.

The value of passenger vehicles brought in jumped 16.7%, from $15.4 million to about $18 million, compared with the same quarter in 2023.

Imports of petrol and other light oils went up by 17.6%, from $50.9 million to almost $60 million, over the same period.

The three biggest categories out of the total imports were miscellaneous manufactured goods (23.2%); machinery and transport equipment (18.1%); and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (14.7%).