01Key Takeaways
- Suriname imported $1.70 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 5.9% from $1.80 billion in 2022, the most recent year with verified trade data available in this dataset.
- Machinery and mechanical appliances led every import category at 18.3% ($309.89 million), with mineral fuels ranking second at 12.0% ($202.97 million).
- The United States was Suriname's largest import partner, supplying 26.4% of imports, worth $448.82 million.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 49.5% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $1.7B | $1.5B | $1.4B | $1.8B | $1.7B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $448.8M | 26.4% |
| 2 | Netherlands | $210.9M | 12.4% |
| 3 | Trinidad & Tobago | $180.0M | 10.6% |
| 4 | China | $166.6M | 9.8% |
| 5 | Antigua & Barbuda | $65.1M | 3.8% |
| 6 | Japan | $60.7M | 3.6% |
| 7 | Brazil | $38.0M | 2.2% |
| 8 | Areas, nes | $37.8M | 2.2% |
| 9 | Turkey | $34.4M | 2.0% |
| 10 | United Kingdom | $31.3M | 1.8% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $309.9M | 18.3% |
| 2 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $203.0M | 12.0% |
| 3 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $146.2M | 8.6% |
| 4 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $113.3M | 6.7% |
| 5 | 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 | $93.6M | 5.5% |
| 6 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $58.2M | 3.4% |
| 7 | Railway or Tramway Locomotives, Rolling-Stock and parts thereof; Railway or Tramway Track Fixtures and Fittings and parts thereof; Mechanical (including Electro-Mechanical) Traffic Signalling Equipment of all kinds | $43.0M | 2.5% |
| 8 | Inorganic Chemicals; Organic or Inorganic Compounds of Precious Metals, of Rare-Earth Metals, of Radioactive Elements or of Isotopes | $42.7M | 2.5% |
| 9 | Miscellaneous Chemical Products | $41.7M | 2.5% |
| 10 | Fertilisers | $40.1M | 2.4% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Eased in 2023 After a Sharp 2022 Rebound
Suriname imported $1.70 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 5.9% from $1.80 billion 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.
Import value stood at $1.71 billion in 2019. It fell for two consecutive years, reaching $1.53 billion in 2020 and $1.38 billion in 2021, the low point of this five-year window. It then rebounded sharply to $1.80 billion in 2022, the high point of this five-year window, before easing back to $1.70 billion in 2023.
This dataset does not explain the two-year decline, the sharp 2022 rebound, or the pullback that followed. Import value in 2023 nonetheless landed almost exactly where it stood back in 2019, after a five-year round trip through a dip and a spike. A decline of 5.9%, arriving right after the sharpest rebound in this five-year period, describes a partial cooling rather than a return to the earlier downturn. The five-year pattern traces a two-year slide, a sharp rebound, and then a modest pullback. It is not a steady move in one direction. That round trip back to roughly the same starting point sets this five-year window apart from economies where import value simply climbs or falls in one direction throughout.
Machinery and Fuel Lead a Fairly Broad Import Mix
Machinery and mechanical appliances led every import category in 2023, worth $309.89 million, or 18.3% of the total. Mineral fuels ranked second at 12.0%, worth $202.97 million. Vehicles followed at 8.6%, worth $146.23 million, and iron or steel articles rounded out a top four at 6.7%, worth $113.29 million.
Electrical machinery and equipment contributed 5.5% ($93.59 million), and plastics added 3.4% ($58.20 million). Railway and tramway equipment contributed 2.5% ($43.01 million), and inorganic chemicals added a nearly identical 2.5% ($42.70 million).
Chemical products not elsewhere classified contributed a similar 2.5% ($41.67 million), and fertilizers closed out the top ten at 2.4%, worth $40.09 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. No single category here approaches even 20% of total value. The gap between first and second place is far narrower than in many other economies covered in this dataset. Machinery, fuel and vehicles together describe an import mix built around capital goods and transport inputs rather than one overwhelming commodity. Three categories near the bottom of this list cluster within a tenth of a percentage point of each other, underscoring just how flat the tail end of this ranking is compared with the sharper drop-offs seen higher up the list.
The United States Leads a Diverse Set of Import Partners
The United States was Suriname's largest import partner in 2023, taking 26.4% of imports, worth $448.82 million. Netherlands ranked second at 12.4%, worth $210.89 million, a tie reflecting the country's long-standing trade links dating back to its history as a former Dutch colony. Trinidad & Tobago followed closely at 10.6%, worth $179.99 million. Trinidad and Tobago functions as a regional fuel trading hub, importing and re-exporting petroleum products to smaller Caribbean markets, a role consistent with its position among Suriname's top import partners alongside mineral fuels ranking second on the category list above.
China rounded out the top four at 9.8%, worth $166.58 million, a much smaller gap between the top four partners than seen on many other rankings in this dataset. Together, the top three partners accounted for 49.5% of total import value.
Antigua & Barbuda contributed 3.8% ($65.13 million), and Japan added 3.6% ($60.73 million). Brazil followed at 2.2% ($38.04 million). A destination recorded in trade statistics as "Areas, nes," a catch-all classification for shipments not assigned to a single specific country, added a nearly identical 2.2% ($37.76 million).
Turkey contributed 2.0% ($34.36 million), and United Kingdom closed out the top ten at 1.8%, worth $31.25 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. This list spans North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia, a broader geographic spread than the heavily concentrated export side of trade for this economy. No partner here comes close to matching the concentration seen among this country's top export destinations.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile built around machinery, fuel and vehicles. That profile is sourced from a partner base led by the United States but spread far more evenly across regions than Suriname's export side of trade.