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Analysis and Studies - Country Analysis

Jamaica: a look at the market

By SkyMinder Sales Enablement Team August 20th 2024

Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Caribbean and gets its name from the Arawak word ‘Xaymaca,’ meaning “land of wood and water.” The Arawak people originally lived there, but the island's culture was disrupted by the Spaniards in 1494, leading to a large decimation of the population by 1574. The British took control of Jamaica in 1655, transforming it into a key location for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Escaped slaves, known as Maroons, resisted British dominance and eventually secured a peace treaty, which remains a symbol of their struggle for freedom. Today, the Maroons continue to live with a degree of autonomy in Jamaica.

Following the emancipation of slaves in 1838, many former slaves became small-scale farmers, aided by land settlement initiatives from Christian organizations and the nation achieved independence in 1962.

The official interpretation of the Jamaican National Flag is ‘The sun shineth; the land is green; and the people are strong and creative’: the flag consists in four triangles (two black and two green) that are divided by a diagonal yellow cross.

 

The color green stands for hope and agriculture, yellow represents the natural resources and the beauty of the sunlight, and black symbolizes the strength of people against hardships.

Jamaica has a high level of specialization in Vermouth ($32.1M), Aluminium Oxide ($246M)), Aluminium Ore ($76M), Limestone ($3.99M), and Other Processed Fruits and Nuts ($60.5M).

 

 

In 2022, Jamaica was 145th economy in total exports, with a trade of $1.95B, and the 131st in total imports, with a trade of $7.62B.

In 2022 the most exported product was Refined Petroleum , with a trade of $734M, ahead of Petroleum Gas ($265M), Aluminium Oxide ($246M), Aluminium Ore ($76M), and Hard Liquor ($73.3M), with the United States being the most significant destination (57.1%), followed by Russia (5.11%), Canada (4.15%), United Kingdom (3.63%), and Iceland (2.02%).

Jamaica's export economy is a mix of high dependency on a few markets and strategic diversification in certain sectors, indicating both vulnerabilities and opportunities for growth. The graphic shows a strong reliance on energy products, with the United States as the dominant trade partner, which exposes the country to economic risks from market fluctuations and policy changes.

While the energy sector shows significant market concentration, other sectors like hard liquor are more diversified, offering some economic resilience. Jamaica also plays a strategic role in the global aluminum industry, with key markets in Russia and Iceland, though this adds geopolitical risk.

  1. Refined Petroleum (37.6%): 75.7% United States, 3.67% Argentina, 2.93% Haiti, 2.05% Guyana. 2.05% Costa Rica, 1.75% France, 0.98% United Kingdom
  2. Petroleum Gas (13.6%): 92.1% United States, 3.3% Croatia, 2.26% Finland, 1.68% Mexico, 0.68% Netherlands
  3. Aluminium Oxide (12.6%): 40.5% Russia, 16% Iceland, 13.5% Latvia, 12.5% Canada, 8.49% United States, 4.02% Netherlands, 3.76% Ghana
  4. Aluminium Ore (3.89%): 94.8% United States, 5.23% China
  5. Hard liquor (3.76%): 18.9% United Kingdom. 16% United States, 13.9% Canada, 5.53% Netherlands, 4.57% New Zealand, 2.16% Finland, 1.93% Saint Lucia, 1.83% Suriname, 1.17% Japan 

Refined Petroleum was also the most imported product, with a trade of $973M, followed by Crude Petroleum ($440M), Petroleum Gas ($385M), Cars ($313M), and Packaged Medicaments ($148M), with the United States being the major source (36.2%), ahead of China (12,5%), Trinidad and Tobago (5.64%), Brazil (4.86%), and Turkey (4.29%).

The import landscape shows a strong dependency on a few key countries, making Jamaica vulnerable to external economic and geopolitical shifts.  The graphic indicates a heavy dependency on the United States for energy needs, followed by Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago that are key suppliers, reflecting Jamaica's reliance on regional energy sources.

The importation of cars, primarily from Japan, and packaged medicaments, with India as the leading supplier, demonstrates some diversification in non-energy sectors.  

  1. Refined Petroleum (12.8%): 94.2% United States, 2.02% Bahamas, 1.26% Russia, 0.14% Turkey, 0.8% Panama
  2. Crude Petroleum (5.77%): 62.1% Brazil, 17.7% Colombia, 17.1% Ecuador, 3.02% Barbados
  3. Petroleum Gas (5.05%): 62.1% Trinidad and Tobago, 18% United States, 11.3% Nigeria, 8.59% Dominican Republic
  4. Cars (4.1%): 56% Japan, 9.23% Thailand, 6.56% United States, 6.27% South Korea, 4.93% Germany, 4.65% India, 1.87% China, 0.9% Canada
  5. Packaged Medicaments (1.94%): 20.9% India, 17% United States, 14.4% Panama, 11.5% Canada, 6.07% France, 4.04% Germany, 2.59% Barbados

Between 2021 and 2022, the country which saw a fastest growth as exporter was the United States, with an increase of $375M, ahead of Russia ($54.3M) and Latvia ($33.2M).

 

 

  1. United States: from $739M to $1.11B
  2. Russia: from $45.5M to $99.7M
  3. Latvia: from $36.6k to $33.3M

The United States was also the fastest growing importer, with an increase of $692M, followed by Trinidad and Tobago ($228M), and China ($221M).

 

 

 

  1. United States: from $2.07B to $2.76B
  2. Trinidad and Tobago: from $202M to $430M
  3. China: from $728M to $949M

Sources: 

https://oec.world/en

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/