Excellent news continue to arrive for the Dominican economy, once again from the Free Trade Zones sector, which in October 2024 reached a new record for the month of October. According to preliminary statistics from the General Directorate of Customs (DGA), after reaching an accumulated value of US$6,498.88 million by September 2024, a significant increase of +7.7% over the US$6,036.05 million exported in the same period of 2023, Free Trade Zone exports continue their excellent performance in October 2024, as shown in the attached graph: +8.1%, from US$712.06 million (October 2023) to US$769.84 million (October 2024).
Some tariff categories stand out for their excellent performance in October 2024: Medical Devices (chapter 90) grew by an additional US$12.45 million, followed by Tobacco exports (chapter 24) with an additional US$11.12 million, and finally, Electrical Materials (chapter 85) with an additional US$8.87 million.
Finally, the geographical diversification of Free Trade Zone exports has further intensified in October 2024, as shown in the attached table: while the U.S. market grew by +7.2%, from US$538.95 million (October 2023) to US$577.65 million (October 2024), still representing 75.0% of the total Free Trade Zone exports, the Rest of the World (including Haiti and Puerto Rico) grew by +11.0%, from US$173.11 million (October 2023) to US$192.19 million (October 2024). Likewise, the recovery of the Haitian market stands out, which grew in October 2024 (+16.3%) for the second consecutive month, from US$21.83 million (October 2023) to US$25.39 million (October 2024).
Thanks to this significant export growth up to October 2024, the Free Trade Zones sector is the second-fastest growing economic sector of 2024 (+6.5%), only surpassed by the Financial Services sector (+7.9%) but ahead of important sectors such as Tourism (+6.0%) and Transport (+5.8%), according to preliminary data from the Central Bank (BCRD).
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