01Key Takeaways
- Trinidad and Tobago imported $9.16 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 47.7% from $6.20 billion in 2022, by far the sharpest increase anywhere in this dataset and the most recent year with verified trade data available.
- Mineral fuels led every import category by a wide margin, worth $3.33 billion, or 36.4% of the total.
- The United States was Trinidad and Tobago's largest import partner, supplying 43.6% of imports, worth $3.99 billion.
- The top three import partners together accounted for 55.8% of total import value.
025-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $6.3B | $4.9B | $5.8B | $6.2B | $9.2B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $4.0B | 43.6% |
| 2 | China | $719.9M | 7.9% |
| 3 | Italy | $399.7M | 4.4% |
| 4 | Brazil | $391.4M | 4.3% |
| 5 | Japan | $243.0M | 2.7% |
| 6 | Canada | $239.0M | 2.6% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | $200.3M | 2.2% |
| 8 | Netherlands | $189.9M | 2.1% |
| 9 | Germany | $189.1M | 2.1% |
| 10 | Turkey | $187.0M | 2.0% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $3.3B | 36.4% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $904.2M | 9.9% |
| 3 | Vehicles other than Railway or Tramway Rolling-Stock, and parts and accessories thereof | $535.6M | 5.8% |
| 4 | Ores, Slag and Ash | $381.9M | 4.2% |
| 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 | $355.5M | 3.9% |
| 6 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $258.3M | 2.8% |
| 7 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $198.9M | 2.2% |
| 8 | Ships, Boats and Floating Structures | $179.7M | 2.0% |
| 9 | Pharmaceutical Products | $167.7M | 1.8% |
| 10 | Dairy Produce; Birds' Eggs; Natural Honey; Edible Products of Animal Origin, not elsewhere specified or included | $143.3M | 1.6% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
Import Value Surged in 2023, a Sharp Contrast to the Export Side
Trinidad and Tobago imported $9.16 billion worth of goods in 2023, up 47.7% from $6.20 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, tracking a small energy-exporting Caribbean economy through a volatile stretch.
Import value stood at $6.34 billion in 2019. It fell to $4.88 billion in 2020, the low point of this five-year window, before recovering to $5.76 billion in 2021 and $6.20 billion in 2022. Import value then jumped sharply to $9.16 billion in 2023, the high point of this five-year window by a wide margin.
This dataset does not explain the 2020 decline, the gradual recovery that followed, or the sharp 2023 jump. Import value in 2023 sits well above every other year in this five-year window. Growth of 47.7% is by far the single largest year-over-year move anywhere in this dataset. It stands in sharp contrast to the export side of trade for this same country, which recorded its own sharpest decline that same year. Imports surging to a five-year high while exports collapsed describes two very different stories playing out on opposite sides of this country's trade in the same year. A small economy this dependent on a single commodity sector can see import and export figures move independently, since each side reflects its own separate set of buyers, suppliers and contract timing.
Fuel Dominates an Import List Reflecting a Structural Shift Away From Domestic Refining
Mineral fuels led every import category in 2023, worth $3.33 billion, or 36.4% of the total, by a wide margin the largest single category on this list. Trinidad and Tobago closed its Pointe-a-Pierre refinery in 2018 after more than a century in operation. The country now imports refined fuel products through a dedicated fuel trading company, a structural shift consistent with mineral fuels leading both this country's import list and its export list. Machinery and mechanical appliances ranked a distant second at 9.9%, worth $904.22 million.
Vehicles added 5.8%, worth $535.62 million, and ores, slag and ash contributed 4.2%, worth $381.90 million. Electrical machinery added 3.9%, worth $355.47 million. These three categories sit well behind fuel and machinery, each contributing a modest slice of the overall total.
Plastics contributed 2.8% ($258.28 million), and iron or steel articles added 2.2% ($198.89 million), a category likely tied to industrial and construction activity. Ships, boats and floating structures contributed 2.0% ($179.67 million), and pharmaceutical products added 1.8% ($167.67 million). Dairy produce, eggs and honey closed out the top ten at 1.6%, worth $143.31 million, the smallest share among the ten categories listed here. Mineral fuels alone are worth close to four times the second-place category. That gap describes an import list shaped overwhelmingly by a single structural need.
The United States Supplies More Than Two-Fifths of All Imports
The United States was by far Trinidad and Tobago's largest import partner in 2023, taking 43.6% of imports, worth $3.99 billion. China ranked a distant second at 7.9%, worth $719.92 million. Italy followed at 4.4%, worth $399.75 million. Together, these top three partners accounted for 55.8% of total import value.
Brazil contributed 4.3% ($391.37 million), and Japan added 2.7% ($242.99 million). Canada followed at 2.6% ($238.95 million), and United Kingdom added 2.2% ($200.32 million).
Netherlands contributed 2.1% ($189.86 million), and Germany added a nearly identical 2.1% ($189.09 million). Turkey closed out the top ten at 2.0%, worth $187.00 million, the smallest share among the ten partners listed here. The gap between the United States and every other partner is wide, echoing the same lopsided concentration seen on the export side of trade for this country. Ranks two through ten here are packed within roughly six percentage points of each other, a far tighter cluster than the wide gap separating the United States from the rest of this list.
Taken together, this dataset's most recent confirmed year describes an import profile dominated by refined fuel products following the closure of this country's own refinery. That profile surged to a five-year high even as the export side of trade for this same country recorded its sharpest pullback, and it is sourced from a partner base led decisively by the United States.