Kralendijk/Oranjestad (St. Eustatius)- In 2018, the trade deficits of Bonaire and Saba rose while the deficit of St Eustatius declined. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures.

The Caribbean Netherlands has a structural trade deficit. This means that the value of imported goods exceeds the value of exported goods. Domestic production of goods is relatively low on the islands.

Statia’s trade deficit below 50 million US dollars

In 2018, imports exceeded exports by 47 million US dollars on St Eustatius. This trade deficit was 10 percent down on the previous year but still larger than in 2014. The import value fell by 7 percent to 51 million US dollars, while the export value rose by 59 percent to nearly 4 million US dollars.

The CBS report does not mention what exactly contributed to higher exports.