Imports grew by 13.5% in 2019

| 05/08/2020 | 1 Comment
Cayman News Service
Grand Cayman cargo port

(CNS): The latest report from the Economics and Statistics Office shows that the total value of goods imported into the Cayman Islands last year was $1,183.3 million, an increase of 13.5% on figures for 2018. This is yet another statistic reflecting the booming economy before the COVID-19 health crisis struck. While fuel accounted for much of this, non-petroleum imports grew by 14.6%, accounting for the bulk of the imports.

“Growth occurred in all categories,” the ESO said in its summary of the annual Foreign Trade Statistics Report 2019. Increases were recorded for electrical and industrial machinery, road vehicles, prefabricated buildings, and furniture and parts.

The value of petroleum and petroleum-related imports increased by 5.8% to reach $140.9 million, driven not by cost but by the volume of fuel imported, especially diesel and motor fuel, as there was a reduction in the average price of fuel imported in 2019.

There was some encouraging news for the health of the population, as the imports recorded an increase in vegetables and a 25% decrease in tobacco products.

The report reveals the continued dependence on the United States for the bulk of imported goods here. Things purchased in the US amounted to more than 84% of the Cayman Islands’ entire imports, while the rest came largely from Jamaica, Japan (mostly cars), Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

While merchandise export figures remain very low, they did grow by 30.5%, but were largely re-exports, the report found.

See the full report here


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Category: Economy, Politics

Comments (1)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I don’t know how every time I attempt to get a shipment from DHL or FedEx the peanuts in the customs department make it nearly impossible.

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