A British Overseas Territory and island in the North Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda shipped US$33.5 million worth of exported products around the globe in 2022.

That dollar amount reflects a 46.3% increase from $22.9 million five years earlier during 2018.

Year over year, the value of all goods exported from Bermuda accelerated by 17.1% compared to $28.6 million for 2021.

The top 3 most valuable exports from Bermuda are alcoholic beverages, piston engines and electric generating sets or converters. Combined, that trio of major exports accounts for 40.3% of total sales for Bermudian exported goods in 2022.

Bermuda’s Major Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 99.9% of products exported from Bermuda were bought by importers in: United States of America (84.6% of the Bermudan total), United Kingdom (9.6%), Canada (2.9%), Germany (1.7%), Denmark (0.25%), New Zealand (0.22%), Faroe Islands (0.21%), Croatia (0.16%), Sweden (0.07%), Jamaica (0.06%), Spain (0.04%) and mainland China (0.03%).

From a continental perspective, 87.6% of Bermuda’s exports by value was delivered to North American countries while 12.1% was sold to importers in Europe.

Smaller percentages went to Australia and New Zealand in Oceania (0.22%), Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (0.07%) then customers in Asia (0.05%).

Given Bermuda’s population of 64,184, the island shipped an average $520 worth of exported goods per capita in 2022. That metric is higher than the average $450 per capita for 2021.

Bermuda’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Bermudian global shipments during 2022 at the 2-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Bermuda.

1. Machinery including computers: US$4.4 million (13.2% of total exports)
2. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $2.5 million (7.3%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: $2 million (6%)
4. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $1.5 million (4.6%)
5. Gems, precious metals: $531,000 (1.6%)
6. Base metal tools, cutlery: $505,000 (1.5%)
7. Vehicles: $211,000 (0.6%)
8. Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $184,000 (0.5%)
9. Cereal/milk preparations: $127,000 (0.4%)
10. Aircraft, spacecraft: $116,000 (0.3%)

Base metal tools and cutlery was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 818.2% from 2021 to 2022.

In second place for improving export sales was machinery including computers via a 344.3% advance.

Bermuda’s shipments of gems and precious metals posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 273.9%.

The leading decliner among Bermuda’s top 10 export categories was vehicles, pulled down by a -98.8% year-over-year drop.

Products Generating Bermuda’s Best Trade Surpluses

Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. This can result in a positive or negative trade balance.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

Below are exports from Bermuda that result in positive net exports or product trade balance surpluses. These positive net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Bermuda’s goods exceed Bermudian importer spending on foreign products.

• Aircraft, spacecraft: US$93,000 (Up by 22.4% since 2021)
• Lead: $1,000 (Reversing a -$1,000 deficit)

Products Causing Bermuda’s Worst Trade Deficits

Overall Bermuda incurred an -US$1.16 billion trade deficit in 2022, expanding by 12.9% from -$1.03 billion in red ink one year earlier for 2021.

Below are exports from Bermuda that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Bermuda’s goods trail Bermudian importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$141.5 million (Up by 56.2% since 2021)
2. Machinery including computers: -$73.1 million (Up by 16.9%)
3. Books, newspapers, pictures: -$64.9 million (Up by 46.4%)
4. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$57 million (Up by 0.2%)
5. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: -$49.9 million (Up by 12.7%)
6. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$49 million (Down by -33.6%)
7. Vehicles: -$48.9 million (Up by 90.7%)
8. Plastics, plastic articles: -$37.1 million (Up by 16.1%)
9. Pharmaceuticals: -$32.2 million (Down by -2.3%)
10. Meat: -$28.8 million (Up by 10.6%)

Bermuda has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for refined petroleum oils and petroleum gas under the product category mineral fuels including oil.

Bermudian Export Companies

Nine businesses with headquarters in Bermuda rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the world-class Bermudian companies that Forbes included.

1. Seadrill (oil services & equipment)
2. Everest Re Group (diversified insurance)
3. PartnerRe (diversified insurance)
4. Arch Capital Group (property/casualty insurance)
5. Axis Capital Holdings (diversified insurance)
6. Assured Guaranty (diversified insurance)
7. Nabors Industries (oil services & equipment)
8. Catlin Group (property/casualty insurance)
9. Signet Jewelers (jewelry stores)

Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Bermuda. Selected examples are shown below.

• Bacardi (alcoholic beverages)
• Gosling Brothers (alcoholic beverages)
• Nabors Industries (oil, natural gas)
• Scorpion Offshore (oil, gas)

 

Bermuda’s capital city is Hamilton.

See also Cuba’s Top 10 Exports, Jamaica’s Top 10 Exports and Colombia’s Top Trading Partners

Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flag of Bermuda. Accessed on October 11, 2023

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 11, 2023

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 11, 2023

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 11, 2023

Government of Bermuda, Bermuda Employment statistics. Accessed on October 11, 2023

Trade Map, International Trade Centre. Accessed on October 11, 2023

Wikipedia, Bermuda. Accessed on October 11, 2023

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Bermuda. Accessed on October 11, 2023