Bahamas Foreign Trade Intelligence Dashboard
Exploring The Bahamas’ trade relationships, import dependencies, export strengths and regional trends using publicly available BNSI foreign trade data.
Data Source: The Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI). Analysis is based on annual Foreign Trade Publications and Trade Statistics reports covering 2017–2025.
Disclaimer: This independent analysis was prepared by Dharma Data Solutions using publicly available data from the Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI); it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, prepared on behalf of, or representative of BNSI, and readers should rely on the analysis at their own discretion.
The Bahamas’ Top Exports: What the Country Sells to the World
Export data from the Bahamas National Statistical Institute covering 2017–2025 shows that The Bahamas’ export economy is concentrated in a relatively small number of categories.
The largest export category is Marine Products, followed by Chemicals & Polymers, Salt, and Construction Materials. Together, these categories reveal both the strengths and vulnerabilities of the country’s export base.
Marine products remain the strongest contributor, driven overwhelmingly by spiny lobster. Chemicals and polymers represent another significant share of exports but have declined over time. Salt stands out as one of the faster-growing export categories, while construction materials make a smaller but relatively stable contribution.
The overall picture is one of a narrow export base with several strong niches and opportunities for further diversification.
Marine Products: The Bahamas’ Leading Export Category
Marine Products represent the largest export category in the analysis, accounting for approximately 48.9% of total exports.
The category recorded an export CAGR of 4.3%, indicating moderate long-term growth.
Within Marine Products, spiny lobster dominates the category.
Spiny lobster accounted for approximately 42.5% of total exports and represented roughly 87% of Marine Product exports.
Other marine exports include:
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Shrimps
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Stone crab claws
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Conch
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Marine crab
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Prawns
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Other molluscs and chilled seafood products
However, each of these represents a much smaller share compared with spiny lobster.
This concentration highlights the importance of the fishing and marine sector to the Bahamian export economy.
It also creates exposure.
When a single product accounts for such a large share of an export category, changes in international demand, environmental conditions, fisheries management, or production levels can have a material impact on export performance.
Chemicals & Polymers: A Significant but Declining Export Category
Chemicals & Polymers account for approximately 33.0% of exports, making the category the second-largest export grouping in the analysis.
Unlike Marine Products, however, the long-term trend is negative.
The category recorded an export CAGR of -12.3%, indicating a significant decline over the period analyzed.
The category is also highly concentrated.
Block and shape moulding and expansible polystyrene beads account for approximately 82.7% of Chemicals & Polymers exports.
Other exports include chemical compounds containing quinoline or isoquinoline rings, compounds containing pyrimidine rings, other polystyrene, and other plastic products.
The declining CAGR suggests that this is an area worth monitoring closely.
Because such a large share of the category is concentrated in one major product group, continued weakness in that product could materially affect overall export performance.
Salt: A Smaller Category With Strong Growth
Salt represents approximately 9.9% of exports and stands out as one of the faster-growing export categories.
The category recorded an export CAGR of approximately 15.9%.
Unlike several other major export categories, Salt is relatively balanced between two main products.
Solar sea salt represents approximately 52.8% of the category, while salt liquors and seawater account for approximately 47.2%.
The historical trend shown in the dashboard indicates an overall upward trajectory, although year-to-year performance varies.
This growth makes Salt particularly noteworthy.
While it remains much smaller than Marine Products or Chemicals & Polymers, its strong CAGR suggests that it is becoming a more meaningful contributor to the country’s export mix.
Construction Materials: A Smaller but Stable Contributor
Construction Materials account for approximately 1.4% of exports, with an export CAGR of approximately 0.7%.
The category is heavily concentrated in broken or crushed stone, which represents approximately 80.7% of Construction Materials exports.
Other exported products include:
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Natural sands
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Aragonite
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Other mineral substances
These products represent relatively small shares of the overall export economy, but they demonstrate that The Bahamas’ natural-resource exports extend beyond marine products and salt.
What the Export Data Reveals
Several themes stand out.
First, The Bahamas’ export base is highly concentrated.
Marine Products and Chemicals & Polymers together account for a substantial share of the country’s exports. Within those categories, exports are concentrated even further in a small number of products—particularly spiny lobster and expansible polystyrene-related products.
Second, the strongest categories are moving in different directions.
Marine Products recorded moderate growth of 4.3%, while Chemicals & Polymers declined at -12.3%.
Third, Salt presents an important growth story.
With an export CAGR of 15.9%, it is expanding considerably faster than the other major categories identified in the dashboard.
Finally, smaller export categories remain relatively limited in scale.
Construction Materials account for only 1.4% of exports, reinforcing the overall concentration of the export economy.
Conclusion
The Bahamas has several clear export strengths, but the data also highlights the challenge of concentration.
Marine Products remain the strongest export category, with spiny lobster playing an especially important role. Chemicals & Polymers continue to represent a significant portion of exports, but their declining trend is a potential area of concern. Salt offers a more encouraging growth story, while construction-related exports remain comparatively small.
The central opportunity is therefore export diversification.
Diversification does not necessarily mean moving away from sectors where The Bahamas already has established strengths. Instead, it means broadening the range of products, industries, and markets that contribute meaningfully to export growth.
A wider export base could reduce dependence on a small number of products, improve resilience to external shocks, and create new opportunities for Bahamian businesses.
The export data provides a useful starting point for that conversation.
By understanding what The Bahamas sells, which categories are growing, which are declining, and where concentration is greatest, policymakers and business leaders can better identify opportunities to strengthen the country’s position in global markets.