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Who does the Cayman Islands rely on?

The largest supplier of the Cayman Islands in 2024 is the Netherlands, with 35% of what the Cayman Islands buys. Its share was 56.2% in 2019 and 0.36% in 1995. 205 of the 233 products the Cayman Islands buys for more than $1 million have a supplier selling more than 50% of what the Cayman Islands buys of that product; in 144, more than 75%. In those products, purchases from each one’s dominant supplier add up to 17.4% of what the Cayman Islands buys.

Summary

Largest supplier: Netherlands
35%
Concentration (HHI)
2,200
Products with a supplier above 50%
205
Products with a supplier above 75%
144

Concentration index (HHI): 2,200 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting purchases among 5 suppliers of the same size

Trend

Trend in shares

The Netherlands went from 0.36% to 35% of what the Cayman Islands buys

Share (%)

  • Netherlands 35%
  • Germany 22%
  • United States 17.1%
  • Italy 13.6%
  • Brazil 2.3%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest supplierShare
1995Mexico39.1%
1996United States31.7%
1997Brazil29.1%
1998United States33%
1999United States25.2%
2000United States23%
2001Norway25.8%
2002United States17.3%
2003Spain38.8%
2004United States18.8%
2005United States24.7%
2006Spain29.2%
2007United States22.6%
2008Germany22.8%
2009South Korea36.2%
2010South Korea43.4%
2011Japan21.4%
2012United States27.2%
2013United States25.9%
2014South Korea25.7%
2015South Korea22.3%
2016Netherlands29.4%
2017Seychelles27.6%
2018Netherlands28.3%
2019Netherlands56.2%
2020Netherlands47.4%
2021Netherlands53.6%
2022United States50.9%
2023Netherlands43%
2024Netherlands35%

Its suppliers

  1. Netherlands$2.4 billion · 35%
  2. Germany$1.5 billion · 22%
  3. United States$1.2 billion · 17.1%
  4. Italy$929 million · 13.6%
  5. Brazil$153 million · 2.3%
  6. India$74 million · 1.1%
  7. Canada$70 million · 1%
  8. Jamaica$65 million · 0.95%
  9. United Kingdom$46 million · 0.68%
  10. China$37 million · 0.54%

Some of these goods may have been produced in another country: countries record origin in different ways.

Products with a dominant supplier

Of the 233 products the Cayman Islands buys for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.

ProductSupplierShareSecondValue
Refined petroleumUnited States86.9%over 75%Turkey · 3.9%$230 million
Airplanes and helicoptersBrazil69.2%India · 30.7%$206 million
FurnitureUnited States65%Canada · 10.5%$44 million
ComputersMalaysia82.8%over 75%United States · 14.5%$42 million
JewelryUnited States65.9%Switzerland · 16.3%$37 million
Other food preparationsUnited States89.6%over 75%Jamaica · 7.4%$32 million
GoldUnited States99.1%over 75%Canada · 0.68%$28 million
Precious metal watchesSwitzerland56.7%United States · 40.5%$26 million
Cargo and cruise shipsPoland99.2%over 75%United States · 0.77%$25 million
Medical and dental instrumentsUnited States73.1%Netherlands · 7%$21 million
Plastic tableware and household itemsUnited States97.2%over 75%Jamaica · 0.64%$21 million
Steel structuresUnited States66.8%Jamaica · 8%$19 million
Plastic building fittingsUnited States80.8%over 75%Jamaica · 6.7%$18 million
Poultry meatUnited States74.3%Jamaica · 21.9%$18 million
Monitors and projectorsUnited States87.5%over 75%Germany · 9.3%$18 million
Air conditionersUnited States87.7%over 75%Jamaica · 4%$16 million
Other wristwatchesUnited States55.6%Switzerland · 38.7%$15 million
Bread, biscuits and pastriesUnited States84.8%over 75%Jamaica · 7.7%$14 million
Other plastic articlesUnited States86.4%over 75%Germany · 5.2%$14 million
Women's knitted suits and dressesUnited States88.3%over 75%Portugal · 2.9%$13 million
Engine partsGermany51%Namibia · 20.9%$13 million
Auto partsUnited States82.9%over 75%United Kingdom · 4.8%$13 million
Low-voltage switches and connectorsUnited States75.8%over 75%Jamaica · 10.8%$12 million
Fresh beefUnited States98.8%over 75%Jamaica · 0.83%$12 million
Other electrical devicesUnited States92.9%over 75%China · 4.1%$10 million

and 180 more

A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.

Countries that sell more than 50% of some product; the darker, the higher the value of those products.

Selling: who it relies on

Largest customer: Netherlands
77.2%
Concentration (HHI)
6,011

Concentration index (HHI): 6,011 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 2 customers of the same size

Trend in shares

The Netherlands went from 0.3% to 77.2% of what the Cayman Islands sells

Share (%)

  • Netherlands 77.2%
  • India 3.3%
  • Grenada 3.2%
  • Malta 2.8%
  • United States 2.8%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest customerShare
1995Brazil34.4%
1996Spain38.7%
1997Spain28.5%
1998Norway43.5%
1999Spain57.8%
2000Norway47.2%
2001Spain47.4%
2002Spain58.9%
2003Spain79.4%
2004Spain64.4%
2005Spain70.3%
2006Spain50.2%
2007Brazil44.3%
2008France42.7%
2009France62.9%
2010Spain60.3%
2011Spain42.6%
2012Côte d'Ivoire30.8%
2013Germany33%
2014Cyprus57.9%
2015Cyprus35.2%
2016Malta33.7%
2017Seychelles71%
2018Netherlands46.1%
2019Netherlands79.3%
2020Netherlands65.7%
2021Netherlands79.8%
2022Malta28.7%
2023Netherlands63%
2024Netherlands77.2%

14 of the 14 products the Cayman Islands sells for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what the Cayman Islands sells of that product; in 8, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 86.4% of what the Cayman Islands sells.

ProductCustomerShareSecondValue
Yachts and pleasure boatsNetherlands90.4%over 75%Malta · 3.3%$2 billion
Refined petroleumGrenada57.9%United States · 23%$128 million
Airplanes and helicoptersIndia71.7%Italy · 23.3%$109 million
Cargo and cruise shipsPoland52.7%Germany · 47.3%$45 million
BatteriesUnited States100%over 75%Bahamas · 0%$18 million
Cameras and broadcast equipmentUnited States83.7%over 75%Canada · 15.4%$10 million
Natural gas and LPGBelize65.6%Barbados · 34.5%$9 million
Computer and office machine partsUnited States96.7%over 75%Bahamas · 1.4%$4 million
Surveying instrumentsNorway97.5%over 75%United States · 2%$3 million
Turbojets and gas turbinesSingapore56.1%Japan · 26%$3 million
Paintings and drawingsSwitzerland91%over 75%United States · 7.1%$2 million
Pepper, dried chili and paprikaUnited Kingdom100%over 75%—$1 million
MicrochipsMalaysia61.2%Netherlands · 13.7%$1 million
Ferrous scrapUnited States99.4%over 75%Germany · 0.55%$1 million

Concentration compared

The closest countries in the concentration ranking (HHI, highest first).

RankCountryHHI
42Timor-Leste2,223
43New Caledonia2,217
44Cayman Islands2,200
45Vietnam2,142
46Ethiopia2,135
47Belize2,121

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

Methodology

The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.

Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.

The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.

Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.

The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.

Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.