- Progress on the National Plan for Export Promotion was presented.
- Abinader stated that the government prioritizes the revitalization of production.
Dominican exports during the period 2020-2023 amounted to $45,804.3 million, representing a growth of 23.5%, as reported yesterday by the Executive Director of the Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic (ProDominicana), Biviana Riveiro.
This growth is compared to the same pre-pandemic period, from 2016 to 2019, and is part of the implementation of the National Plan for Export Promotion.
The figure was presented during the second presidential meeting led by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, and the Minister of Industry, Commerce, and SMEs, Víctor ‘Ito’ Bisonó, along with other officials and personalities related to the export sector.
Riveiro detailed that in 2021 and 2022, record values were set for exports in the Dominican Republic, with growth rates of 18% and 6%, respectively.
Exports in 2021 amounted to $11,644.6 million, while in 2022, they reached $12,381.6 million, and in 2023, they totaled $11,933.4 million, resulting in a year-on-year growth between 2022 and 2023 of 3.6%.
Challenge: Mining sector
Biviana Riveiro indicated that over these three years of exports, there have been challenges in the mining sector, citing the cases of gold and ferronickel as examples. Regarding the former, she explained that it is recovering due to the investment made, which has increased the productivity of the mining sector.
In fact, the decline in gold exports (-14.7%), ferronickel (-40.6%), and exports to Haiti (-17.5%) contributed to the year-on-year growth of total exports being -3.6% in 2023.
Exports destination
On the subject of export destinations, she pointed out that over the past three years, the Dominican Republic has experienced growth in countries such as the United States, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Jamaica, Guyana, Curacao, and Grenada.
She explained that the country has access to 28 out of 33 islands in the Caribbean, which enhances accessibility to over 1.2 billion consumers worldwide.
Growth
In 2023, positioned as the year of greatest expansion, the Dominican Republic gained access to 134 markets. Close to 4,000 exporting companies, located in 30 provinces, recorded exports during this period for over 2,974 products.
From January to April of the current year, exports reached nearly $4 billion, with a significant portion attributed to free trade zones and the local industrial sector.
In March, there was a reflection of a decline in international trade, which, according to Biviana Riveiro, was due to the effect of Easter week. However, there was a recovery in April due to an increase in international demand.
“Within ProDominicana’s initiatives at the level of public policies, the National Plan for Export Promotion constitutes the most important pillar,” highlighted Riveiro.
Furthermore, she emphasized the management of equivalence with the United States in inspection and certification standards for slaughterhouses, the availability of 24/7 customs services, the consolidation of the Single Investment Window within the Zero Bureaucracy Program, the promotion of service exports, and the strengthening of e-learning platforms.
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