Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta admitted to participants in a recent Dominican Association of Exporters (AdoExpo) activity that farm exports are sluggish and could be more. He was the keynote speaker at the AdoExpo luncheon. He spoke on “The Dominican Economy: Present Situation and Opportunities for the Export Sector.”
Peralta admitted most of the growth in the exporter sector has been in the big mining and free zone export sectors. He called for businessmen to become more involved saying Dominicans have a comparative advantage. Peralta said the country could place more pineapples, avocados, mangos, bananas, coconuts and dragon fruit (pitahaya) fruits abroad. He also spoke of increased opportunities for tomatoes and bell peppers, produced in controlled environments. He also spoke of opportunities for meat exports.
“The statistics show we are on the right track,” said Peralta. He said farm exports were up 10% to US$830.9 million in 2016.
Furthermore, he encouraged local producers to look into opportunities for exporting to the Caribbean, rather than only to the US or Europe. He said the Caricom markets import US$30 billion a year from the rest of the world. He said that despite a free trade agreement, the DR is only exporting to Caricom countries US$180 million a year, or 0.6% of what the Caribbean purchases from the rest of the world. Peralta said that Panama, that does not have a free trade agreement, is selling to the Caribbean US$600 million a year, or four times more than the DR.
Peralta said that President Medina authorized him to hold meetings with CEI-RD, Adoexpo, the National Business Council (Conep), the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD) and the Dominican Republic Association of Industries (AIRD) to find transport alternatives and see how the government can facilitate trade.
Peralta also encouraged local companies to export to develop linkages with the free zone exporting industries. He said today these companies import 75% of their materials and supplies.
Peralta said the exporter sector is a priority of President Danilo Medina and renewed efforts of the Center for Export & Investment (CEI-RD) as the specialized government agency for information, marketing and support to Dominican exporters.
During the event, the president of Adoexpo, Álvaro Sousa Sevilla, called for the need to create an exporters’ culture among local businessmen. This would be based on exporting quality goods and services to the world, meeting international standards and committing to making “Made in Dominican Republic” a matter of national pride.
Sousa highlighted the importance of a public-private alliance to promote exports, attract foreign investment to export manufacturers in the country.
Read Peralta’s speech:
AdoExpo
20 July 2017
