Grenada Export Trade Data: $46.06M in 2023, Up 22.90%

The Spice Isle's Trade Is Rebuilding, Slowly

Grenada exported $46.06 million worth of goods in 2023, up 22.90% from $37.47 million the year before, its highest total across this five-year window. Products of the milling industry led every category, worth $6.24 million, or 13.56% of the total, and coffee, tea, mate, and spices ranked second at 10.47% ($4.82 million). That spice category is a fraction of what it once was. Grenada was the world's second-largest producer and exporter of nutmeg before Hurricane Ivan destroyed roughly 90% of its nutmeg trees in 2004. Production collapsed from 4.87 thousand tonnes in 2003 to just 0.44 thousand tonnes by 2006, with output still only around 1.12 thousand tonnes by 2017. Nutmeg and mace together still account for roughly 45-50% of Grenada's agricultural export value, even at a fraction of pre-hurricane volume, since nutmeg trees take a decade or more to reach full production after replanting.

Food industries residues and prepared animal fodder added 10.01% ($4.61 million), a category tied to Grenada's agro-processing sector rather than raw crop exports. Tanning or dyeing extracts, paints, and inks contributed 8.94% ($4.12 million), a somewhat unusual category to see so high on the list for an island economy of this size. Beverages, spirits, and vinegar took 6.65% ($3.06 million), a category tied to Grenada's small but historic rum-distilling tradition, anchored by estates that have operated on the island since the 1700s using largely unchanged, small-batch production methods. Electrical machinery added 6.19% ($2.85 million), and vehicles contributed 6.04% ($2.78 million).

Glass and glassware took 5.60% ($2.58 million), and fish and crustaceans contributed 5.43% ($2.50 million), reflecting Grenada's Caribbean fishing grounds and the small-scale export trade built around them. Machinery and mechanical appliances closed out the top ten at 5.25% ($2.42 million). No single category outside milling products and spices reaches even 11% of the total, a fairly even spread across the remaining categories on this list.

Most of Grenada's Trade Isn't Attributed to a Named Country

Grenada's own trade records attribute 52.22% of 2023 export value, worth $24.05 million, to an unspecified "Areas, nes" destination category rather than any single named country. This same data-classification pattern shows up elsewhere among small island economies covered on this site, where high-value or brokered goods often don't get cleanly attributed to a final buyer. Among named destinations, the United States ranked first at 8.76% ($4.04 million), and St. Vincent & Grenadines followed closely at 8.60% ($3.96 million).

Trinidad & Tobago took 6.84% ($3.15 million), and St. Kitts & Nevis added 6.16% ($2.83 million). St. Lucia contributed 3.78% ($1.74 million), and Antigua & Barbuda took 3.02% ($1.39 million). Guyana added 2.11% ($0.97 million), Jamaica contributed 1.84% ($0.85 million), and Barbados closed out the top ten at 1.33% ($0.61 million). Outside the USA, every named destination is a fellow CARICOM member, underscoring how much of Grenada's identifiable trade flows within its immediate Caribbean neighborhood rather than toward more distant markets in Europe or Asia. That pattern makes sense for a small island economy whose shipping costs rise sharply with distance, and whose closest, most accessible buyers happen to be other islands facing many of the same production limitations and import needs.

A Record Year After a Pandemic Setback

Grenada's export total moved through a volatile five-year stretch. It stood at $34.48 million in 2019, then fell to $24.62 million in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted shipping and regional trade alike. It recovered to $35.16 million in 2021, roughly back to its pre-pandemic level, and edged up further to $37.47 million in 2022.

The 2023 total of $46.06 million, up 22.90% year over year, is the strongest year in this entire dataset, driven by gains spread across milling products, spices, and several smaller categories rather than any single dominant commodity. Nutmeg recovery is still measured in decades rather than years. Much of Grenada's trade is also routed through an unspecified customs category that obscures where goods actually end up. Given both of those factors, this small island economy's export figures are likely to stay volatile from one year to the next, shaped as much by shipping and classification patterns as by underlying production. A single large shipment, a shift in how brokers report a destination, or a good harvest in one spice category can move the entire national total by a meaningful percentage in a way that would barely register for a larger, more diversified economy.