Unfair competition, smuggling worry industries the most: Poll

Santo Domingo.- Unfair competition and smuggling havebecome the industrialists’ main concern, with 17.9% of those polled in the"Rank of factors affecting competitiveness."

That factor is followed by the tax burden (16.7%) and competitionfrom imported products, at 15.3%.

The Dominican Republic Industries Association (AIRD) preparesunder the Business Survey, carried out quarterly and covered the period fromApril to June.

The cost of raw materials was fourth with 11.4% while thecost of the electric supply was fifth with 10.2%.

Overall the AIRD lists 14 factors considered key to the domesticindustry’s competitiveness.

The Ranking determined that the main factors affecting industryin a given period are cyclical, but stressed that “unfair competition andsmuggling lasted two consecutive quarters in third place, (but) now ranksfirst."