According to the data, overall domestic exports brought in income of $102.8 million, compared to $117.2 million a year earlier and $135 million in the same three-month period in 2019.
BUSINESS MONDAY: EXPORTS DOWN
BARBADOS earned just over $100 million from domestic exports during the first three months of this year.
Data relating to these exports and earnings were released by the Central Bank of Barbados during the recent 2021 first quarter economic review.
According to the data, overall domestic exports brought in income of $102.8 million, compared to $117.2 million a year earlier and $135 million in the same three-month period in 2019.
Rum exports accounted for the largest share of $20 million; followed by exports of processed foods which earned $15.0 million; and the $13.7 million from the export of chemicals. Re-exports also contributed $60.5 million which represented a significant decline from the $109.4 million in the previous three months of 2020.
Other exports registered a decline, according to the Central Bank of Barbados data. For calendar 2020, Barbados netted approximately $449.4 million from domestic exports – with sales of chemicals leading the way with exports amounting to $85.0 million and rum $76.0 million.
These two have emerged as the principal export commodities from Barbados.
In the review, the Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes, said that overall the manufacturing sector registered a modest contraction as some industries were exempt from the COVID-19 lockdown protocols.
According to him, the production of food and beverages, tobacco and electronic components increased; while there were significant declines in chemicals and non-metallic minerals.
The Governor reported that the country’s economy declined sharply by 19.8 per cent – the largest contraction on record – with tourism falling 96 per cent.
Other sectors like agriculture and construction fell.
In relation to agriculture which last year saw a 1.9 per cent increase in output, that hike did not carry through in the first quarter of this year.
Haynes said that agricultural output fell, largely due to effects of lower demand on chicken production, and the fall off in the production of food crops.