01Key Takeaways
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines imported $456.43 million worth of goods in 2023, up 4.2% from $437.95 million in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Mineral fuels led import categories at 10.2% ($46.47 million), followed by machinery, boilers and mechanical appliances at 9.6% ($44.03 million).
- The USA supplied 44.6% of imports ($203.75 million), by far the largest single partner.
- Trinidad and Tobago ranked second among partners at 8.8% ($40.20 million), a much smaller share than the USA's.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $335.2M | $321.2M | $372.5M | $438.0M | $456.4M |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $203.8M | 44.6% |
| 2 | Trinidad & Tobago | $40.2M | 8.8% |
| 3 | United Kingdom | $34.3M | 7.5% |
| 4 | China | $33.6M | 7.4% |
| 5 | Netherlands | $13.3M | 2.9% |
| 6 | Japan | $10.3M | 2.3% |
| 7 | Canada | $7.0M | 1.5% |
| 8 | Barbados | $6.8M | 1.5% |
| 9 | Turkey | $6.6M | 1.5% |
| 10 | Germany | $6.4M | 1.4% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $46.5M | 10.2% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $44.0M | 9.6% |
| 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 | $29.9M | 6.5% |
| 4 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $25.6M | 5.6% |
| 5 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $24.6M | 5.4% |
| 6 | Meat and Edible Meat Offal | $19.8M | 4.3% |
| 7 | Furniture; Bedding, Mattresses, Mattress Supports, Cushions and similar Stuffed Furnishings; Lamps and Lighting Fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; Illuminated Signs, Illuminated Name-plates and the like; Prefabricated Buildings | $17.1M | 3.7% |
| 8 | Cereals | $17.0M | 3.7% |
| 9 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $16.3M | 3.6% |
| 10 | Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar | $14.1M | 3.1% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Has Grown Steadily Since 2020
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines imported $456.43 million worth of goods in 2023, up 4.2% from $437.95 million in 2022. This is the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset. The dataset covers a full five years, from 2019 through 2023, giving a fuller picture of the trend than the two-year window available for some smaller Caribbean countries in this series.
Import value followed a different path than exports over the same period. It stood at $335.23 million in 2019, then eased to $321.19 million in 2020. It then climbed for three straight years. Imports reached $372.50 million in 2021, $437.95 million in 2022, and $456.43 million in 2023.
That steady climb since 2020 contrasts with the up-and-down pattern seen on the export side of trade for this country. The export side is covered in the companion export data for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This dataset does not include information explaining either pattern. What the numbers do show is that import value now sits well above its 2019 starting point, even after the 2020 dip. Export value over the same stretch ended close to where it began.
Fuel and Machinery Lead a Wide Import List
Mineral fuels and related products led every import category in 2023. They were worth $46.47 million, or 10.2% of the total. Like much of the Caribbean, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has historically depended heavily on imported fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, a pattern consistent with fuel's leading position on this list. Machinery, boilers and mechanical appliances followed closely at 9.6% ($44.03 million), a gap of less than one percentage point between the top two categories. Electrical machinery and equipment added 6.5% ($29.86 million). Iron or steel articles contributed 5.6% ($25.64 million).
Vehicles added 5.4% ($24.65 million), and meat and edible meat offal contributed 4.3% ($19.75 million). Furniture added 3.7% ($17.07 million), and cereals contributed 3.7% ($16.96 million). Plastics added 3.6% ($16.31 million). Beverages, spirits and vinegar closed out the top ten at 3.1% ($14.13 million). That same broad category also appears among the country's own export categories.
No single category dominates this list the way milling products dominate the export side of trade for this country. Instead, the top ten import categories spread fairly evenly across fuel, machinery, metals, vehicles and food. That pattern describes a small economy bringing in a broad mix of goods it does not produce domestically. Machinery and vehicles together point to ongoing investment in equipment and transportation. Fuel, meat and cereals point to the everyday goods a small island cannot fully supply on its own.
The USA Supplies Close to Half of All Imports
The USA supplied 44.6% of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' imports in 2023, worth $203.75 million. That is by far the largest single partner share in this dataset. Trinidad & Tobago ranked a distant second at 8.8% ($40.20 million), and the United Kingdom followed at 7.5% ($34.32 million). Together, the top three suppliers made up 61.0% of total import value, meaning fewer than a third of the ten listed partners account for well over half of everything imported.
China contributed 7.4% ($33.64 million), and the Netherlands added 2.9% ($13.35 million). Japan contributed 2.3% ($10.28 million), and Canada added 1.5% ($7.01 million). Barbados contributed 1.5% ($6.80 million), and Turkey added 1.5% ($6.64 million). Germany closed out the top ten at 1.4% ($6.41 million).
The USA's share of imports here, at 44.6%, is far larger than its 11.3% share of exports, covered in the companion export data for this country. Barbados shows the opposite pattern. It was the top export destination at 20.8%, but ranks only eighth among import suppliers, at 1.5%. Those two reversals are among the more notable features of this dataset's 2023 snapshot. Trinidad and Tobago is the one partner that appears on both lists, ranking second among import suppliers and seventh among export destinations.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes a small economy importing a broad mix of goods primarily from the USA. Trinidad and Tobago, the United Kingdom and China play smaller but still meaningful roles. Compared with the export side of trade, where nine of the top ten destinations sit within the Caribbean, this import list leans more heavily on partners outside the region.