In the last eight years, the Dominican Republic has had a negative trade balance, in an unfavorable proportion of 67.9%, according to data from the General Directorate of Customs (DGA), obtained from a numerical cross.
Between 2014 and the end of October 2021, the country imported goods and merchandise worth US$153,958.99 million (in FOB values) and exported the equivalent of US$73,522.21 million. That is 32.1% of what is imported.
The FOB value is defined as the cost of the merchandise placed on board a maritime transport, which covers three concepts, which are: cost of the merchandise in the country of origin, transportation of the goods and export duties.
In general, in those eight years mentioned, the commercial exchange between the Dominican Republic and other nations was US$227,481.2 million, with a commercial deficit for this country of the order of US$80,436.78 million.
The trade balance can be defined as an economic indicator that is obtained from data on the export and import of consumer goods or, what is the same, of payments abroad of the country and collections from said abroad.
Meanwhile, the trade deficit is what happens when a country’s imports of goods and services exceed their exports; or what is the same, when a country buys more from the rest of the world than it sells to it. That is precisely what has happened in the last eight years.
In detail, between January and November 2021, the Dominican Republic imported the equivalent of US$22,256.9 million and exported US$9,738.8, according to figures obtained from the DGA. The previous year, that is, in 2020 (the year in which the world entered the covid-19 pandemic), imports totaled US$17,260.6 million, and exports had a value of US$9,844.7 million.
in the pre-pandemic
In 2019, the commercial exchange between the Dominican Republic and other countries totaled US$30,703.8 million. Of this, US$10,079.14 million corresponded to exports and US$20,624.68 to imports, for a trade balance deficit of US$10,545.54 million.
In 2018, it was exported for a value of US$9,473.91 million and imported for US$20,591.13. In 2017, imports totaled US$18,016.08 million and exports US$8,831.18 million. Between 2014 and 2016 imports totaled US$52,634.48 million, versus exports for US25,554.40.
