The country’s trade exchange grows by 40%

Santo Domingo—Since 2022, the country’s trade exchange with the world has grown by 40%, which has generated an exponential increase in imports and exports.

The information was offered by the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes (MICM), Vilma Arbaje, during a conversation with press members entitled “DR-Cafta beyond 2025.”

While participating in this activity, the Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Mipymes, Victor-Ito-Bisonó, referred to the trade deficit with the United States and pointed out that when talking about the shortage of one country with another, the size and conditions of both nations must be taken into account.

In the case of the Dominican Republic, the MICM head held that it should be evaluated in terms of percentage or by performance, not by the amount of a balance.

“We have to see the progress made by the Dominican Republic; we had a huge surprise with the growth and export of the orange economy. When Doña Vilma was talking about the export of cosmetics, we have grown 300% in the export of cosmetics. As for tobacco, when we came to the Government, we had 80,000 tareas planted, and today we have 150,000 tareas, growing with a strategy for the productive chaining,” said Bisonó.

The Vice Minister of Foreign Trade added, “Our imports and exports have been increasing exponentially; with the United States, our trade represents almost 50%, and our imports and exports originate in that country.”

He recalled that the country’s main markets are the United States and Haiti. However, there has been a recomposition in recent years, and Switzerland has been added to the list thanks to gold exports, Puerto Rico, and the Netherlands.

The main export products have also been recomposing, mainly gold, cigars, medical instruments, and electrical components.

Arbaje said that 50% of exports are concentrated in the United States, and the remaining percentage is divided between China, Mexico, and Brazil.

The official said that in the Dominican Republic, tobacco is an industry worth more than US$2 billion, 1,600 million in exports, and 600 million in imports of raw materials.

During the discussion, both Bisonó and Arbaje answered questions from press members.

The Dacomex RD, Export Potential Map RD, and Market Acces Map RD platforms were presented at the meeting, as well as three commercial intelligence tools allowing exporters to expand their frontiers and make better business decisions.

Dacomex RD is the first interactive panel of foreign trade statistics of the Dominican Republic. At the same time, Potencial Map RD allows knowing the potential of the Dominican Republic to the world.

Market Acces Map RD allows us to visualize the possibilities of exporting products to any part of the world.

The activity was attended by the professor and economist Antonio Ciriaco and the businessman Bienvenido Rodríguez, owner of the radio station Z101. Also present were the Vice Minister of Internal Trade, Ramón Pérez Fermín, as well as directors and collaborators of the MICM.