Imports Up 50%; Exports by 12%

Tiffany Vasquez

On external trade, imports are up by nearly fifty percent, while exports are up by twelve percent. Here the details on those numbers.

Tiffany Vasquez, Statistician II, S.I.B.

“For the period January to July of 2021, Belize’s imports were valued at one point one billion dollars. This was a significant twenty-two percent growth, or an increase of two hundred and eight-point four million dollars when compared to imports for the period January to July of 2020. As the months of April to July of last year saw COVID restrictions impacting the flow of imports, as well as reduced demands for merchandized goods, due to the economic downturn, imports within this period hit extreme lows. Thereby, this twenty-two point eight percent, the surge in imports is, for the most part, a return to normal import flows, mimicking pre 2020 imports.  Total domestic for the period January to July of this year amounted to two hundred and thirty-two point nine million dollars. This was an increase of five point eight percent, or twelve point eight million dollars when compared to exports for that same period last year.”