The president of the Dominican Association of Exporters (AdoExpo), Elizabeth Mena says exports totaled US$2.75 billion for the first quarter of the year. The total is up 9.7% compared to the first quarter of 2020. Mena said that March 2021 was a month with record figures. She said exports reached US$1.11 billion, compared to US$816 million in March 2020 when the ravages of the pandemic began in the second half of the month.
Exports for January to March 2021 were highest to the United States (US$1.41 billion, up 13.8%); Switzerland (US$273.65 million up 8.4%); Haiti with US$222.06 million (8.4%); India with US$146.78 million, up 56.3%; and Puerto Rico with US$136.07 million, up 24.7%. Mining exports make up the bulk of exports to Switzerland and India. Exports to Puerto Rico include a large component of metal rods.
Mena said that companies located in free zones drove the increase in exports. The duty-free manufacturing zones were responsible for US$1.65 billion in exports, up 15.6% compared to Jan-March 2020. She explained that cigars exports grew 55.1% (US$259.18 million), medical instruments were up 2.8% (US$252.48 million) and electrical circuit devices increased 13.6% (US$202.64 million). 73.8% of all free zone manufacturing exports are shipped to the United States.
Exports outside of the free zone regime were US$1.09 billion, reflecting a growth of 1.8% for the January-March 2021, when compared to the same period in 2020. Mena said that local exports had been lagging, but took off in March 2021, when a growth of 28.9% is reported.
While exports were up, so were imports. The Customs Agency (DGA) reports total imports were US$5.11 billion, up 9.21% for the first quarter of the year. The bulk of the imports was in fuel, machinery and vehicles.
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Super7FM
26 April 2021