Free zone exports were up 9% in January 2023 compared to January 2022. January exports at US$522 million are the highest since January 2010, reports the Ministry of Industry & Commerce (MICM). January 2022 exports were US$478.9 million.
Compared to pre-pandemic year, January 2019, free zone exports are up 23%.
Total national exports were US$847.4 million in January. This means free zone exports were 61.6% of total exports.
The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes, Víctor “Ito” Bisonó confirmed the free zone sector maintains a sustained growth trend and has made important investments, positively impacting its production capacity and the generation of jobs at national level.
The main subsectors that are driving the performance are electrical and electronic appliances, which registered the highest relative growth, with 32.6% in January. Medical products and equipment grew 21.3%, followed by footwear and its components (19.8%), agro-industrial products (15.4%) and tobacco and its derivatives (12.7%).
The Dominican Republic is becoming a regional leader exporting medical devices. Significant exports of devices blood pressure monitoring were exported to Japan and the Netherlands. New exports of medical products for respiratory use are increasingly exported to Italy.
Similarly, tobacco and cigars, among other substitutes, are exported to various markets, including the United States, Germany, Honduras and China. Spain is the main buyer of rum exports.
The sector is undergoing a significant diversification process in terms of export destinations. The Dominican Republic currently exports more than 1,700 products to 129 countries, including the United States, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Australia, China, Spain, Italy, France and England, as well as other countries such as Colombia, Honduras and Japan.
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Presidency
21 February 2023