The sector free trade zone of the Dominican Republic registers 183,232 jobs as of December 2021, according to data from Dominican Association of Free Zones (adozona). This figure is 8.9% higher than that registered in the same period of 2020, when the numbers stood at 168,200.
What’s more, adozona indicates that there are 734 companies in the country, 42 more than in the same period of 2020. These companies are in 79 parks that are operating in the country as of December 2021. On the same date in 2020, in the Dominican Republic there were 75 parks.
According to the portal of Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM), which has data up to 2020, 52% of employees in the sector free trade zone is female and 48% male.
Likewise, a 2019 graph published by the institution indicates that textile manufacturing is the activity of free trade zone which has the most employees, with 21% of the total, followed by tobacco and its derivatives with 15%, pharmaceutical products with 14%, call centers (7%), footwear and its components (6%), electronics (4%), agro-industrial products (3%), electrical products (3%), services (2%), jewelry (2%) and plastic articles ( 1%), among others.
Also, the value exported in 2021 reached US$7,177.7 million between January-December 2021.
“The free trade zone remain one of the productive activities with the greatest contribution of direct employment in the country, being the first economic sector to return to pre-pandemic employment levels,” said President Abinader of the sector. free trade zone in his speech before the National Assembly on February 27.
The report of the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) indicates that the exports of the regime free trade zone for the period January-December 2021, they amounted to US$7,143.30 million, presenting a growth of 22.66% in relation to the same period in 2020.
It specifies that 52.71% of these exports correspond to consumer goods, 31.55% to capital goods and the remaining 15.74% to raw materials.
He explains that 83.15% of the exports of the regime free trade zone it is concentrated in 10 tariff chapters, standing out: tobacco and substitutes (17.16%), followed by instruments and optical devices, photography (16.54%), electrical machines and devices (16.03%), fine pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (10.77% ).
Also, knitted garments and clothing accessories (6.17%), pharmaceutical products (6.14%), plastic and its manufactures (3.45%), footwear, leggings, similar articles and their parts (2.78%), cotton (2.57%), cocoa and its preparations (1.53%), and the rest represents 16.85%.
