SANTO DOMINGO.- Locally manufactured products used for personal care including to uncurl and color hair, and others have a high potential abroad.

Added to these are the products derived from cacao and agribusiness, especially organics; beers, rums and chemicals to prepare paints are well accepted in nations with which there’s trade such as Central America and the Caribbean.

Dominican Industries Association (AIRD) vice president Circe Almánzar said these products have a high aggregate value and a high potential, among them citing the face packs, although noting that today’s markets “are necessary to win them.”

She said intermediate materials play a leading role in production, since they contribute to reduce costs, citing cardboard boxes used in the free zones and also for products sold abroad.

Almanzar said productive sectors have studied the manner in which to develop a common strategy and in that regard they see that the time has arrived to begin drafting a long term development agenda. The industrial sector plays an important role in that aspect, since it represents nearly 22 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).