Free zone exports are booming. President Luis Abinader attended the “Free Zones, Zones of Opportunities” event held on occasion of the National Free Zones Day.
Abinader said he was proud to announce that Dominican exports were up 28% for the first half of 2021, going from US$4.49 billion in the same period in 2020, to US$5.75 billion in 2021. Exports were up US$1.26 billion, driven mostly by the demand for the products and services offered by the local free zone manufacturing industries. Free zone production increased 21% compared to exports in the pre-pandemic January-June 2019.
Free zone industries here are diverse. Tobacco and derivatives report 80.3% growth. Apparel was up 73.6. Electrical and electronic devices report a 10.1% growth. Medical devices and pharmaceuticals grew 3.7%.
The president of the Dominican Free Zone Association (Adozona), Luis José Bonilla Bojos said that if this growth rate is maintained, it is very likely that the free zones sector will close the year 2021, for the first time in history, with a level of exports of US$7 billion. He also emphasized that this growth is due to legal security, respect for the business conditions of the sector and in large part to the public-private alliances that have received a boost in the Abinader administration. Free zones contribute 59% of the national exports.
Gustavo González, president of the Free Zone Association of the Americas (AZFA), described the free trade zone system in the Dominican Republic as a global success story. He, too, highlighted the legal security, institutional support from the government and public-private collaboration, which has led to sustained growth in the sector, the job creation and economic diversification.
Overall, exports from the Dominican Republic totaled US$6.59 billion between January and August 2021. This is US$261.1 million (4%) more than exports for the same period in 2020, according to data from the Customs Agency (DGA).
Read more in Spanish:
Presidency
N Digital
El Nuevo Diario
CNZFE
13 August 2021