NASSAU, Bahamas — The Bahamas improved its trade relationship with China and the United Kingdom in 2021, after both nations in recent years have strategized with the government for improved trade, The Nassau Guardian reported on Friday, August 26, in an article written by Paige McCartney.
Last year, the value of imports from China – now The Bahamas’ second largest trading partner after the United States — totaled $49.4 million, up from $34 million in 2020. The value of exports to that country totaled $200,412 in 2021, up from the $66,213 in 2020.
As for the United Kingdom, which is the country’s sixth largest trading partner, the value of goods and services imported to The Bahamas was $24.1 million, up from the $17.6 million in 2020; while the value of exports totaled $20.7 million, up from the $2.87 million a year before.
Elsewhere, the value of imported goods and services from Canada shrank from $51 million in 2020 to $36.8 million in 2021, while exports dropped to $341,534 last year from the $1.15 million a year before; Turks and Caicos also dropped to $31.4 million in 2021 from $50.5 million a year before.
Trade between Panama and The Bahamas improved as well with $23.6 million in imports in 2021 compared to the $15.1 million seen in 2020, and Japanese imports grew to $27.1 million last year from the $21.8 million a year before.
“The United States maintained its position as The Bahamas’ number one trading partner. While The Bahamas did a significant amount of trade with China, Canada, Turks & Caicos and Japan, the United States still represented 84.5 percent of total imports and about 75.8 percent of exports,” the Bahamas National Statistical Institute said.
The value of imports from the United States in 2021 totaled $2.94 billion, while exports totaled $411.7 million.
The Davis administration has developed a draft National Trade Policy aimed at finding ways to diversify what The Bahamas imports and exports and to and from which countries. See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/bahamas-improved-trade-relationship-with-china-and-the-uk-in-2021/
