July 3, 2023
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) reported a 4.2% increase in Jamaica’s total value added at constant prices in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same quarter of 2022. Services and Goods Producing Industries grew 5.4% and 1.0%, respectively. The performance was aided by the economy’s sustained recovery from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the fiscal year 2022/2023 the economy grew by 4.7% compared to fiscal year 2021/2022.
Services Industries
Hotels & Restaurants (29.7%), Other Services (13.0%), Transport, Storage & Communication (7.1%), Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repairs; Installation of Machinery & Equipment (2.8%), Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities (2.3%) Finance & Insurance Services (1.9%), and Electricity & Water Supply (0.7%), industries all had higher activity levels. However, Producers of Government Services industry fell by 0.3%.
Value added for the Hotels & Restaurants industry rose by 29.7% attributed to increased activities in the groups: hotels & other short-stay accommodation and restaurants, bars, and canteens. Hotels & other short-stay accommodation was positively impacted by a 45.5% growth in foreign national arrivals to the island. The number of foreign national arrivals moved to 692,301 in 2023 from 475,805 in 2022. Contributing to the higher numbers were increased arrivals from the United States of America (37.0%), Canada (165.2%), Europe (3.6%) and Latin America (41.4%).
The Other Services industry increased by 13.0% due to growth in the recreational, cultural & sporting activities and the other services sub-industries. The expansion of the recreational, cultural & sporting activities sub-industry was mainly influenced by increases in other entertainment activities and tourist-related activities. Other entertainment activities continued to benefit from the reopening of the entertainment sector. An increase in both stopover arrivals and cruise passenger arrivals to the island contributed to the growth in tourist-related activities. Stopover arrivals grew by 43.8% moving to 733,982 in 2023, compared to 510,401 in 2022. Cruise passenger arrivals increased by 382.3% to 477,502 in 2023.
The Electricity & Water Supply industry increased by 0.7%. This was attributed to a 1.2% growth in electricity consumption which moved to 746,687 MWh in 2023, from 737,496 MWh in 2022. This was impacted by increased demand from commercial customers. Water consumption however, fell by 1.3% moving to 4,668.1 million gallons in 2023 from 4,728.0 million gallons in 2022. This resulted from lower consumption by residential customers as there were water restrictions in some areas of the island.
Goods Producing Industries
Higher output levels were recorded for Mining & Quarrying (114.7%) and Manufacturing (3.6%). Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing and Construction however declined by 6.9% and 4.2% respectively.
Value added for the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing industry fell by 6.9% in the first quarter of 2023 when compared to the similar period of 2022. The industry’s performance was largely attributed to severe dry conditions which resulted in declines in the Other Agricultural Crops (which includes Animal Farming, Forestry & Fishing) and the Traditional Export Crops sub-industries of 7.4% and 4.2% respectively.
The Manufacturing industry increased by 3.6%, primarily attributed to a 7.1% growth in the Food, Beverages and Tobacco sub-industry. This was due to higher output levels in dairy products, vegetable and animal oils and fats, bakery products and beverages. The beverages group benefitted from increased demand from the tourism and entertainment sectors.
The Mining & Quarrying industry grew by 114.7%, mainly due to higher production of alumina. Alumina production grew by 197.1% to 307,393 tonnes in 2023, from 103,468 tonnes in 2022. This was due to increased output from the JAMALCO plant, which was closed in the comparable period of 2022. The rise in alumina production was reflected in a 214.1% increase in the volume of exports to 271,322 tonnes in 2023. The production of crude bauxite however, declined by 33.2% to 427,872 tonnes in 2023, compared to 640,744 tonnes in 2022. This was reflected in the volume of crude bauxite exported, which fell by 28.4% to 445,389 tonnes in 2023.
Value added for the Construction industry fell by 4.2%, influenced by reduced activities in both building construction and civil engineering. Lower expenditure on the South Coast Highway Improvement Project was the main contributor to the fall in the civil engineering group.
Notably, total value added at constant prices rose by 1.0% in the first quarter of 2023 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, resulting from a 1.5% increase in the Services Industries and a 0.6% fall in the Goods Producing Industries
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