The Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo) says 2024 was a year of sustained growth for the country’s exports, and 2025 should be the same.
According to official figures, between January and November of 2024, exports reached RD$11.89 billion, representing an increase of 7.78% compared to the same period in 2023.
Karel Castillo, president of Adoexpo, in an interview with Diario Libre, highlighted that 2024 will surpass the RD$12.03 billion registered in 2023, consolidating itself as a historic year for Dominican exports.
During the interview with Diario Libre, Castillo attributed this growth mainly to the performance of free zones and national products, including medical equipment, tobacco, gold, and cacao.
She said exports of products manufactured in tax-free zones and outside of these have seen increases. She mentioned medical equipment, tobacco, and gold have increased significantly. “The price of gold has also increased, and that is something significant in the mining sector,” said Castillo.
Cacao has also stood out, reaching record prices that have incentivized planting. Castillo noted that the ton of cacao has exceeded US$10,000, which has motivated many producers to invest in this crop.
She indicated that the agricultural sector presents expansion opportunities, particularly in products such as tobacco, cacao, and coconut derivatives, which have gained interest in international markets.
On the other hand, Roselyn Amaro Bergés, executive vice president of Adoexpo, emphasized the potential of emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to diversify Dominican exports. However, she warned that logistics remains a challenge, especially in the Caribbean, due to the limited frequency of maritime transport.
“There is always interest in continuing to identify new markets and new products. Coconut is diversifying a lot; it is a new product that we produce that has a lot of potential,” said Amaro Bergés. She pointed out that coconut is a product with great potential that is being industrialized in different ways: water, paste, oil, and dried coconut, among other derivatives.
Both executives agreed on the importance of implementing incentives to strengthen the competitiveness of the export sector, following the example of countries like Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Ecuador.
They noted that supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent 70% of exporters, is key to continuing to innovate and diversify the export offer.
She specified that “we must prepare” to be more competitive and offer quality products.
“Competition is not bad. On the contrary, competition makes us better,” says the AdoExpo executive vice president.
The Dominican export sector faces several challenges, including transportation costs: high freight prices remain an issue. Comparatively, sending a container from Ecuador to Miami is cheaper than from the Dominican Republic due, supposedly, to the volume of cargo and the size of the ships.
“They say that the ships that go to Ecuador are larger and the capacities are greater than the ships that leave from here, and because they carry more containers, the cost is cheaper. That is the excuse, it shouldn’t be like that,” said the president of Adoexpo, Karel Castillo.
She added, moreover, that the cost of freight to Puerto Rico and Central America is also high.
There are solutions such as taking advantage of empty freight containers, where the exporter can see if there is space from a shipping company that has that empty container and offers a cheaper rate.
Despite the challenges, the Dominican Republic has advantages such as its strategic location and political stability, which should be leveraged to strengthen the country’s position as a logistics hub in the region.
Moreover, Diario Libre reports that the interest of foreign companies in the Dominican Republic is growing. Some multinationals, including Japanese companies, have shown interest in settling in the country. Additionally, steps are being taken to promote the semiconductor industry, including training to develop human talent.
On the subject, the executive vice president of Adoexpo said that the Dominican Republic is one of the first countries that is promoting and supporting the semiconductor issue so that they can be established as a free zone regime in the Dominican Republic.
“It’s something that isn’t short-term, it’s something long-term. It’s not going to be tomorrow, but we have to start, and that first step would be training,” said Amaro Bergés. It was reported that the government’s project is to start with training around 5,000 people.
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Diario Libre
26 December 2024