President Luis Abinader headed a press conference from the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, 31 May 2022 to tell of the recent successes of the free zone sector and emphasize efforts of his administration to encourage more exports and investment. During the press conference held with Industry & Commerce Minister Victor (Ito) Bisonó, the President highlighted the upward trend in export manufacturing and services in the country under the free zone regime.
During the press conference, Industry & Commerce Minister Bisonó spoke of the resilience of the free zones during the most difficult times of the pandemic. “During the pandemic, in 2020, contrary to all forecasts, the sector strengthened, came out stronger and continues to outperform every year. This dynamism is leveraged on the correct application of public policies in favor of its development,” said Bisonó.
He pointed out that if in 2021 the free zones exhibited extraordinary results, the projections based on the results of the first five months of 2022 indicate there will be record numbers for the end of the year.
The free trade zones reached an all-time high in April 2022 with more than 188,000 direct jobs, the highest level in the last 17 years.
Claudia Pellerano, president of the board of directors of the Free Trade Zone of the Americas and vice-president of the Dominican Free Zone Association (Adozona) also spoke of the positive performance of the sector and the important leadership the country is having at regional and world levels, in export sectors such as medical devices, electronics, cigar manufacturing, jewelry, textiles and footwear.
She noted that the country is positioning itself as a regional hub of growing importance, thanks to the customs zones and logistics centers that are operating under the free zone regime.
Pellerano also spoke of a recent boom in the free zone services sector, with contact centers, BPOs and companies dedicated to the outsourcing of technological processes and software development.
According to official data, in 2021 the free zones surpassed the US$7 billion barrier in exports for the first time. Growth was 22.7% over the previous year. A considerable increase is forecast for the end of 2022, given the diversification of export destinations and the leadership the country maintains in the export of cigars, electrical switches, among other categories.
The Dominican Republic currently exports more than 1,700 products to 129 countries, mainly the United States, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Israel, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, China, Spain, France and England.
Likewise, local purchases from free zones were up 32.4%. In the first four months of the year, the free zones bought more than RD$35 billion locally.
Free zones have an economic and social impact on the country. 762 free zone companies operate in 28 of the country’s 32 provinces.
Others attending the event were the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza; the executive director of the National Council of Free Export Zones (CNZFE), Daniel Liranzo; the general director of Customs, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón; on behalf of the Dominican Association of Free Zones (ADOZONA), Manuel Enrique Tavares, and the director of INFOTEP, Rafael Santos Badía.
Read more in Spanish:
Ministry of Industry & Commerce
Presidency
1 June 2022