01Key Takeaways
- The Cayman Islands exported $45.33 million worth of goods in 2023, up 19.5% from $37.91 million in 2022.
- The USA absorbed 81.2% of that total, worth $36.81 million, by far the dominant buyer.
- The United Kingdom and Jamaica were the only other two recorded destinations, at 10.9% ($4.94 million) and 7.9% ($3.58 million).
- Mineral fuels led export categories at 35.0% ($15.86 million), consistent with the territory's role fueling ships passing through its main port.
024-Year Trend
| Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $22.1M | $17.1M | $37.9M | $45.3M |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $36.8M | 81.2% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | $4.9M | 10.9% |
| 3 | Jamaica | $3.6M | 7.9% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $15.9M | 35.0% |
| 2 | Commodities not specified according to kind | $8.3M | 18.3% |
| 3 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $6.1M | 13.5% |
| 4 | Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar | $2.9M | 6.4% |
| 5 | Coffee, Tea, Mate and Spices | $2.3M | 5.1% |
| 6 | Optical, Photographic, Cinematographic, Measuring, Checking, Precision, Medical or Surgical Instruments and Apparatus; Parts and Accessories thereof | $1.8M | 4.0% |
| 7 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $1.6M | 3.5% |
| 8 | Iron and Steel | $1.2M | 2.6% |
| 9 | Miscellaneous Edible Preparations | $1.0M | 2.3% |
| 10 | Ships, Boats and Floating Structures | $937.4K | 2.1% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
The USA Buys Nearly Everything the Cayman Islands Exports
The Cayman Islands shipped $45.33 million worth of goods abroad in 2023, up 19.5% from $37.91 million the year before. United States absorbed 81.2% of that total, worth $36.81 million, by far the largest destination for anything the territory exports. United Kingdom ranked second at 10.9% ($4.94 million), reflecting the Cayman Islands' status as a British Overseas Territory, and Jamaica rounded out the list at 7.9% ($3.58 million), the closest sizable neighbor in the region. Unlike most economies in this dataset, only three destinations show up in the trade record at all, and together they account for effectively all of the territory's recorded export value.
That extreme concentration, and the small dollar figures involved, reflect what the Cayman Islands actually is. Economic data compiled for the territory shows that financial services and tourism together represent 50 to 60 percent of gross domestic product, and that the islands import essentially all of their food and consumer goods rather than manufacturing anything for export. A $45 million merchandise export figure is negligible next to the scale of the offshore banking, hedge fund, and insurance industries based there, activities that do not show up in trade statistics built around physical goods crossing a border.
Bunker Fuel Leads a Short List of Export Categories
Mineral fuels, mineral oils, and related distillation products led all export categories in 2023, worth $15.86 million and accounting for 35.0% of total value. A marine fuel supplier based in George Town describes providing bunkering services to cargo ships, cruise liners, and fishing vessels calling at the territory's main port, a pattern similar to what shows up in the export data of other small island economies along busy shipping and cruise routes: fuel resold to passing vessels rather than consumed domestically. A catch-all "commodities not specified according to kind" category, used when goods do not fit a standard product classification, added another 18.3% ($8.30 million), and electrical machinery and equipment contributed 13.5% ($6.13 million).
Beverages, spirits, and vinegar added 6.4% ($2.92 million), plausibly tied to the same cruise and tourism trade that shapes the fuel numbers, and coffee, tea, and spices contributed 5.1% ($2.30 million). Optical and medical instruments added 4.0% ($1.83 million), machinery and mechanical appliances 3.5% ($1.57 million), iron and steel 2.6% ($1.19 million), miscellaneous edible preparations 2.3% ($1.02 million), and ships, boats, and floating structures closed out the top ten at 2.1% ($0.94 million), a fittingly maritime final entry for an economy built around a busy harbor.
A Small Base With Sharp Year-to-Year Swings
The data available for the Cayman Islands covers four years rather than the full five-year span tracked for larger economies, with figures starting in 2020 rather than 2019. Exports stood at $22.14 million that year, fell to $17.08 million in 2021, then more than doubled to $37.91 million in 2022 and climbed further to $45.33 million in 2023, up 19.5% year over year.
Given how small the absolute dollar figures are and how few partners show up in the record, year-to-year swings of this size are easier to produce than they would be for a larger exporter, since a handful of bunker fuel sales or equipment shipments can move the total by double-digit percentages. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.