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China influence on the DR economy?
Cheap Chinese Products in the DR
The DR has been trading with China for some time. The country is flooded with cheap products with many bordering on pure junk. And many of these second-rate products are found in the stores in the poorer areas of the country. For example, when I came to Samana 8 years ago, this area was quite a bit poorer and less developed than it is now. In buying things for the hotel, such as a simple pull-chain light socket, I was limited to the cheapest products the ferretarias could buy as their local market was mostly a very poor one. Because of the poor quality of the products, things such as the aforementioned light sockets would not last more that a month or two. The amount of Chinese products (usually poor copies) on the shelves was staggering. I finally was able to convince the largest ferretaria in Samana that there was a market (mostly among us foreigners that would pay more for a quality item - if only that it would last longer and not have to be replaced so often) to carry higher quality items made mostly in countries other than China.
A good example: Those of you that have pressure water in your homes know that in the past 4 years since the introduction of the very popular and reasonably priced Itallian Pederollo pumps (attached to a simple red anti-hammer tank with pressure switch) that the market has been flooded with cheap Chinese copies of the pump sold under a number of names, Pedderolo (note the different spelling) included. They're even packed in boxes that are almost identical. If you only use them once in a while the pump might last 6 months. You will also note the pump castings are so poor that it's almost impossible to get a fitting not to leak without a half tube of silicon!
The point of all this is that we've been trading with China for some time and the benefit is questionable. What good are shoddy, second-rate products if they are more costly in the long run? The DR needs to think long and hard about trading with ANY country that does not produce quality goods at reasonable prices. And please don't tell me that there are really good Chinese products available; I know there are. It just seems that many just have not made it here yet.
The DR has been trading with China for some time. The country is flooded with cheap products with many bordering on pure junk. And many of these second-rate products are found in the stores in the poorer areas of the country. For example, when I came to Samana 8 years ago, this area was quite a bit poorer and less developed than it is now. In buying things for the hotel, such as a simple pull-chain light socket, I was limited to the cheapest products the ferretarias could buy as their local market was mostly a very poor one. Because of the poor quality of the products, things such as the aforementioned light sockets would not last more that a month or two. The amount of Chinese products (usually poor copies) on the shelves was staggering. I finally was able to convince the largest ferretaria in Samana that there was a market (mostly among us foreigners that would pay more for a quality item - if only that it would last longer and not have to be replaced so often) to carry higher quality items made mostly in countries other than China.
A good example: Those of you that have pressure water in your homes know that in the past 4 years since the introduction of the very popular and reasonably priced Itallian Pederollo pumps (attached to a simple red anti-hammer tank with pressure switch) that the market has been flooded with cheap Chinese copies of the pump sold under a number of names, Pedderolo (note the different spelling) included. They're even packed in boxes that are almost identical. If you only use them once in a while the pump might last 6 months. You will also note the pump castings are so poor that it's almost impossible to get a fitting not to leak without a half tube of silicon!
The point of all this is that we've been trading with China for some time and the benefit is questionable. What good are shoddy, second-rate products if they are more costly in the long run? The DR needs to think long and hard about trading with ANY country that does not produce quality goods at reasonable prices. And please don't tell me that there are really good Chinese products available; I know there are. It just seems that many just have not made it here yet.
username said:
Yes of course, the only problem is a political one, we as a nation have recognized Taiwan as an independent state from Socialist China, now we must work beyond this and establish direct diplomatic relations with China, in the private sector, this has already been done..
Our family business has made 2 trips to China this year upon our associates request. Chinese companies have a clear sight on Latin America and have been taking steps towards entering this maket for some years, this includes steps such as investing in Colon Panama on the Atlantic side of the Panama canal among many other things.
Interesting isn't it?
I have been looking for information relating to the Dominican Republic's relations with China and have had no luck. Any ideas? I do know however that China has made some strong moves towards Latin America and that this seems to be a very serious issue for the FTAA.
Thanks by the way for your answers both of you. I posted the same thread in the business forum because I thought I would get some good responses there as I am interested in the economic implications of China's emergence. Apparently this may be the forum where I find the best answers. I am new to this though.
I have been looking for information relating to the Dominican Republic's relations with China and have had no luck. Any ideas? I do know however that China has made some strong moves towards Latin America and that this seems to be a very serious issue for the FTAA.
Thanks by the way for your answers both of you. I posted the same thread in the business forum because I thought I would get some good responses there as I am interested in the economic implications of China's emergence. Apparently this may be the forum where I find the best answers. I am new to this though.
Narcosis said:
It's all political maneuvers
Most of the Dominicans, rich and poor, that I know, know that every type of product, specially electric, that is made in Taiwan R.O.C. or China is nothing but CRAP and it's not going to last very long. This is a well known theory amonst Dominicans (hillbilly dominicans not included for lack of evidence) for plenty of years. The first thing these people check after the price has lured them in is the "Made In" (pronounced as it's written in spanish) of the product to see if the product is worth more serious scrutination. Dominican merchants selling Chinese electrical products are doing so because they're either trying to rip people off (most likely not) or they just haven't felt the whiplash from informed local customers rejecting those products as happens in the National Distric.
Most of the Dominicans, rich and poor, that I know, know that every type of product, specially electric, that is made in Taiwan R.O.C. or China is nothing but CRAP and it's not going to last very long. This is a well known theory amonst Dominicans (hillbilly dominicans not included for lack of evidence) for plenty of years. The first thing these people check after the price has lured them in is the "Made In" (pronounced as it's written in spanish) of the product to see if the product is worth more serious scrutination. Dominican merchants selling Chinese electrical products are doing so because they're either trying to rip people off (most likely not) or they just haven't felt the whiplash from informed local customers rejecting those products as happens in the National Distric.
quejeyoke said:
I will wager any amount the computer your fingers are typing on, the wireless router your words are transmitted to, the modem it connects you through, not to mention the mouse you just clicked, the monitor your looking at and the silly little camera sitting on top of your screen are all made in Taiwan or mainland China, or have many components made there, regardless of the brandname.
Food for thought:
Wal-mart, the Worlds largest company, stocks 70% of their products are from China, thats about 5,000 Chinese enterprises or 15 Billion dollars last year.
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I hope you drop that dope
Since you went there, I got a 18.1" Sony Flat screen LCD monitor made in Thailand and am inputing this message from a Powermac G4 made in Califuhnia or as Ahnold would say it. And my webcam a Logitech Quickcam pro 4k most likely wasn't made in Taiwan, otherwise I wouldn't have posted my previews post (hint!,hint!) but can't confirm since I threw out the box a long time ago. On the other hand, I think it's your fingers that are trying to peck away at an old rusty Packard Bell -computer!?... (Packard Bell, if you know what I mean...)
Since you went there, I got a 18.1" Sony Flat screen LCD monitor made in Thailand and am inputing this message from a Powermac G4 made in Califuhnia or as Ahnold would say it. And my webcam a Logitech Quickcam pro 4k most likely wasn't made in Taiwan, otherwise I wouldn't have posted my previews post (hint!,hint!) but can't confirm since I threw out the box a long time ago. On the other hand, I think it's your fingers that are trying to peck away at an old rusty Packard Bell -computer!?... (Packard Bell, if you know what I mean...)
Walmart Quality? - You're Kidding!
Having just returned from a long vacation back in Florida (7 months), I can attest that the quality of a lot of Walmart's products has deteriorated in their quest to dominate the consumer market. For what had formerly been an American company proudly selling mostly American-made products, Walmart has deterioated to below the old K-Mart level with their selling many Chinese and southeast Asian-made products, mostly cheap crap. And in fact K-Mart and Target are now exceeding Walmart in peddling quality products. And what is sad is that Walmart is putting a number of formerly solid-American merchants in financial straits. In Florida alone, both Winn-Dixie and Publix supermarkets (the largest chains with a dominant market share) are struggling to remain competitive in localities that have Walmart superstores with grocery sections. And it's a shame, because if you're a beef-lover and live in Florida (or the southeast US for that matter) you know WD's beef is the best of all the supermarkets' offerings.
Even the electronics we purchased did not come from Walmart as the quality of their offerings was just not there. Best Buy, Circuit City and Radio Shack have got them beat hands down. And my new laptop,...it came direct from Dell replacing my less than 3 years' old IBM Thinkpad that puked it's motherboard. Even IBM's consumer computer products had gotten so bad that they just recently sold that division to a Chinese company, one that had made many of their components. Sayonara Big Blue. And yes I know Dell uses a lot of Chinese and other Asian made components in their computers. The difference is that Dell OWNS these Chinese and Asian factories and manufactures components to their American specifications with higher levels of quality control than their Chinese or Asian-owned counterparts.
And finally, to place Taiwanese-made products with mainland China-made products on the same level is ludicrous. Although producers of cheap, crappy copies in the past, over the years Taiwan has considerably improved the quality of many of their products. The title of the "World's Biggest Producer of Crap" has now passed to the mainland.
Having just returned from a long vacation back in Florida (7 months), I can attest that the quality of a lot of Walmart's products has deteriorated in their quest to dominate the consumer market. For what had formerly been an American company proudly selling mostly American-made products, Walmart has deterioated to below the old K-Mart level with their selling many Chinese and southeast Asian-made products, mostly cheap crap. And in fact K-Mart and Target are now exceeding Walmart in peddling quality products. And what is sad is that Walmart is putting a number of formerly solid-American merchants in financial straits. In Florida alone, both Winn-Dixie and Publix supermarkets (the largest chains with a dominant market share) are struggling to remain competitive in localities that have Walmart superstores with grocery sections. And it's a shame, because if you're a beef-lover and live in Florida (or the southeast US for that matter) you know WD's beef is the best of all the supermarkets' offerings.
Even the electronics we purchased did not come from Walmart as the quality of their offerings was just not there. Best Buy, Circuit City and Radio Shack have got them beat hands down. And my new laptop,...it came direct from Dell replacing my less than 3 years' old IBM Thinkpad that puked it's motherboard. Even IBM's consumer computer products had gotten so bad that they just recently sold that division to a Chinese company, one that had made many of their components. Sayonara Big Blue. And yes I know Dell uses a lot of Chinese and other Asian made components in their computers. The difference is that Dell OWNS these Chinese and Asian factories and manufactures components to their American specifications with higher levels of quality control than their Chinese or Asian-owned counterparts.
And finally, to place Taiwanese-made products with mainland China-made products on the same level is ludicrous. Although producers of cheap, crappy copies in the past, over the years Taiwan has considerably improved the quality of many of their products. The title of the "World's Biggest Producer of Crap" has now passed to the mainland.
username said:
Only Major wholly-owned foreign retailer here is French Carrefour, PriceSmart among others are locally owned and operate with franchise licenses, not counting the Central American investments . The main reason more wholly-owned retailers have not entered is because of the unstable situation in customs. That will soon change with GAT terms in the final stages and clear rules and equal treatment for importing are guaranteed. All the local retail giants are getting ready for this and have been investing to be the best "partner" when the giants like Wal-Mart come knocking.
Globalization, I don't like it one bit, but it is now sink or swim...