RD exports more and more to Haiti and less to the US
Santo Domingo. The Dominican Observatory of International Commerce (ODCI) presented this Thursday 2 of May, the results of the study "News of products and markets in Dominican exports: towards a new pattern of trade?", By the economist and researcher Pavel Isa Contreras .
The economics doctor explained that after a detailed look at exports from the Dominican Republic, with outstanding performance in terms of absolute and relative growth between 2009 and 2011, the study showed that the product with the highest absolute increase in the The value exported was "copper and copper items", exports that are essentially related to the collection of scrap metal and / or the theft of metals.
Likewise, of the 13 tariff items that recorded the greatest absolute increase in exports, four were produced essentially in free zones: medical, optical and photography equipment; pharmaceutical products such as surgical bandages and sutures; and fabrics; five for the national manufacturing industry: plastic products, milling products (flour), cement, alcoholic beverages, and various food preparations (eg sauces and soups); and three were of primary products such as fruits, cocoa and sugar.
As a conclusion to this, Isa Contreras pointed out that a distinctive export pattern does not emerge, but rather a spontaneous process of change that does not respond to a specific policy or any particular advantage.
On the other hand, in terms of markets, the main change that took place was a noticeable drop in exports to the United States, which was offset by an increase in exports to Haiti. Between 2006 and 2011, there was a significant loss of participation by the United States as an export destination. In that period, exports to that country fell by more than US $ 700 million, going from 67% to 55% of total exports.
"Where a clear pattern emerges is in the destination markets: while exports to the United States declined significantly, in more than US $ 700 million between 2006 and 2011, exports to Haiti increased by exactly that amount," said the economist .
Finally, Isa Contreras noted that of the total of Dominican exports that occurred between 2006 and 2001, one 53% were products that fell in the total of our exports and that in turn lost ground in world trade and almost 20% were of missed opportunities, that is, products with promising behavior in the world markets that were not taken advantage of.
Pavel Isa Contreras holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst at 2003 and has a Master's Degree in Economic Policy from the National University of Costa Rica (1994), and a BA in Economics from INTEC. He is a specialist in public policies of the Office of Human Development. He was National Officer in charge of the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations in the Dominican Republic. He worked as an advisor to the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency and the Secretary of State for Finance in economic and social policy; and he has excelled as an economist linked to civil society organizations and the social movement in the Dominican Republic.
The development of the presentation, held in the Julio Ravelo de la Fuente Hall Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo INTEC also had the intervention of Kai Schoenhals and Aquiles Bermúdez, presidents of the Dominican Association of Exporters (ADOEXPO) and of the Dominican Association of Free Zones (ADOZONA), respectively.
About the ODCI:
The Dominican Observatory of International Commerce (ODCI), with its offices located in the INTEC, was launched in the 2012 and part of it is the Foreign Trade Directorate (DICOEX) of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; the General Directorate of Customs (DGA), INTEC, the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAMDR) and the Dominican Association of Exporters ( ADOEXPO), institutions that united wills for its concretion.
ODCI is a space for analysis and research on international trade in the Dominican Republic, for action to strengthen national capacities in trade, and for the provision of services to the public, private and non-governmental sectors.