Bermuda's imports rose dramatically for the second quarter in a row, according to statistics released by Government.

During the third quarter of 2002, Bermuda imported goods worth $182.75 million, 12.1 percent higher than the figure recorded during the same period of 2001.

In the previous quarter, imports rose 13.2 percent year-over-year.

During the previous two years, imports rose only modestly or contracted.

Almost $8 million of the rise can be attributed to fuel imports, which usually vary erratically because of fluctuating oil prices. Chemical imports also rose, by $7.5 million to $29.9 million.

The increase in fuel imports increased the Caribbean's share of Bermuda's imports from 0.8 percent in the third quarter of 2001 to five percent during the third quarter of 2002.

Most of Bermuda's fuel is imported from Aruba and Cura?ao in the Netherlands Antilles. The increase in the Caribbean's trade with Bermuda meant that the United States and Canada lost market share. The majority of imports still come from the United States, but in the third quarter, the American share declined to 74 percent, down from 78 percent the previous year.

Imports from Canada also fell from 6.3 percent of the total to 3.4 percent.

For the first time since at least the beginning of 1999, imports from the United Kingdom, which accounted for 4.3 percent, were worth more than Canadian imports.

The statistics were included in the Department of Statistic's Quarterly bulletin, which includes several economic indicators, including tourism arrivals.

The bulletin reported a 2.4 percent increase between 2001 and 2002 in the number of trips taken by Bermuda residents during the three months ended September 30. Travel was depressed in September 2001 because of the terrorist attacks.

The increase in travel was accompanied by a rise in overseas spending, which rose 8.4 percent - the largest increase since the first quarter of 2001.

Construction work during the third quarter was estimated at $43.7 million, 20 percent above the value recorded in the third quarter of 2001.

Sixty percent of the work was on residential products, including developments such as The Wharf in Paget and the Atlantis building on Victoria Street.

New projects started during the quarter were valued at $16.5 million, of which $10 million was for Bermuda Housing Corporation projects.

Sixty new residences were completed during the quarter, the same as in the second quarter but 17 more than in the third quarter of 2001, with houses with two or fewer bedrooms accounting for all of the growth. The number of completions for the first nine months of 2002 was on par with the previous year.

The number of businesses registered in Bermuda rose a marginal 0.6 percent between the second and third quarter of this year after negative growth in the second quarter.

As of September 30, there were 15,887 companies registered in Bermuda.

Growth in the number of exempted companies made up for a 2.4 percent decline in the number of local companies. Local companies only account for 17 percent of the registrations in Bermuda.

With the exception of two quarters, the number of company registrations has risen consistently since at least 1999.