Amidst growing concerns that the novel corona-virus, now officially named covid-19, will impact Jamaica’s economy, Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Dr. Wayne henry says, trade is expected to be affected.

The announcement came at a quarterly press briefing at the PIOJ Kingston office today.

Dr. Henry explained that the impact is due primarily to travel restrictions implemented to stem the spread of the virus.

He explained further, that the impact in Jamaica is also due to the slow-down of the Chinese economy on global trade and investment flows.

On the export side, dr. henry noted that external demand from china is critical to the performance of the mining and quarrying industry, as a major purchaser of Jamaica’s crude bauxite and alumina.

He stresses that, an extended fallout in trade with China, will negatively affect the Jamaican economy, particularly through reduced export earnings and weakened production performance, within several industries.