The DR exports $1 of merchandise for every $6 that it imports, according to research conducted by Porfirio Garcia, Dean of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences in the Sanrto Domingo Autonomous University. The value of the country’s exports in 1999 was US$872 million, while its exports totaled US$5.379 billion. Garcia attributes this lopsided picture to the absence of export incentives and an excessive reliance on non-local food production. "Its certain," he said, "that Dominicans import 50% of our food products." The incoming PRD government needs to modernize the rules and regulations governing export, loosen capital restrictions that hamstring exporters, and ready the country to play a serious role in world trade, according to Garcia. However, Hoy also reports that agricultural exports have increased by an average of $16.38% in every year between 1992 and 1998, the most recent year for which data are available. The Dominican Center for Export Promotion (CEDOPEX) reports that the value of agricultural exports in 1992 was US$40,174,146, while in 1998 it totaled US$99,823,986. The staples that have most contributed to this increase are processed fruits and vegetables, animal feed and tobacco products.
