The Ministry of Economy has announced a significant increase in both agricultural and local manufacturing exports during the first half of 2024. This complements the continuing rise in free zone exports. Free zone export companies operate in a privileged tax and labor regimes.
According to the Ministry of Economy’s Sectoral Overview report for June 2024, the accumulated value of agricultural exports rose by 26.7% compared to the same period in 2023. Similarly, the real value of local manufacturing exports experienced a 6.9% growth.
The report highlighted that in June alone, agricultural exports reached a value of US$139.4 million, marking a year-on-year increase of 58.3%. This surge can be attributed primarily to increased volumes and values of exported raw cacao beans to the United States and Spain, raw tobacco leaves to China, and eggs to Cuba and the United States. The export of eggs to Cuba and the United States is new. Previously, the eggs were exported to Haiti. With the surge of insecurity in Haiti, local exporters have found new markets.
The report also indicated that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for goods, a measure of the average percentage change in the prices of manufactured goods, reached 164.8 points in June, signifying a growth of 2.1% compared to the same period in the previous year. This increase was mainly driven by the production of food, beverages, non-metallic mineral products, clothing, tobacco products, and textiles, which collectively accounted for 60.7% of the total.
Free zones
The report further detailed that free zone goods exports amounted to RD$166.12 billion during the first half of the year, representing a 9.7% increase. This growth was primarily attributed to the increased value of exported medical instruments and cigarettes.
Regarding local manufacturing exports, the report indicated that they reached RD$39.89 billion during the same period, marking a 6.9% increase compared to the previous year. This was primarily due to increases in sugar cane and plastic goods.
Tourism
The report also highlighted the continued positive performance of the tourism sector, with 624,898 non-resident arrivals by air, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. For the year to date, tourist arrivals reached 3.8 million, marking an accumulated year-on-year increase of 10.5%.
The report indicated that, during the period, 48.5% of non-resident visitors were from the United States, followed by Puerto Rico, Colombia, Canada, Argentina, Cuba, the United Kingdom, and Chile.
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Presidency
15 August 2024