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SANTO DOMINGO. - The Dominican exports of textile confections to the U.S. market continue to fall, posting 12.7 percent less in export volume and 25.5 percent less in value in the first quarter.
However the fall in the sale of garments contrasts with the favorable diversification of the country’s services sector, one of the ones which generate the most currency. These include tourism, call centers, among others.
Currently Dominican textile free zones’ participation has slipped from almost 60 percent to 32 percent, followed by 18.4 percent in medicine production, 16.6 percent in electrical products, 14.5 percent in jewelry, 5.7 percent in footwear, 8.7 percent in tobacco and derivatives, 13.1 percent in services and 9.9 percent in marketing.
According to the Major Garment Shippers Report to the U.S. market, Dominican Republic exported 180.7 million square meters of prepared textiles in the first quarter, a drop of -12.73 percent with respect to January-June 2007, whereas the exported value was US$417.3 million (- 25.5 percent).
Costa Rica, one of the country’s top competitors within the Free Trade Agreement, posted a fall of -21.99 percent and -19.15 percent in volume and value, respectively.
SOURCE: listin.com.do
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COMMENTS
10 comment(s)
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Written by: gouletcolonial 
, 13 Aug 2008 9:28 AM
, 13 Aug 2008 9:28 AMFrom: Cuba, it is a secret the censors are looking for me
the rag trade is pretty much over under the present circumstances in the DR
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Written by: GhouliiishColon , 13 Aug 2008 10:48 AM
, 13 Aug 2008 10:48 AMFrom: United States
Herr Doktor Johann .. you are back from Sabbatical I see .. so did you get yourself a real job this time? .. or are you still pulling that fruta cart in the Zona?
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Written by: GhouliiishColon , 13 Aug 2008 10:51 AM
, 13 Aug 2008 10:51 AMFrom: United States
The rag trade is "on the rag" .. everybody and their uncle is making textiles .. entire textile towns in North Carolina disappeared after their mills joined the "Globalization" parade to places with lower wages .. it's a finicky business with low profit margins ..
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From: Dominican Republic
WIth the labor structure as it exists here, the DR should be a hotbed of sewing. Unfortunately the lack of ability in competing on a level field is something that the previous factory management never learned. And yes, the playing field is level. The wages paid in the far east are below ours, but when you factor in the ever increasing freight charges, the month or more necessary to receive goods from there (from here it is 4 days to Miami), the pesonal danger imvolved in foreign travel the field is more level every day. Also please notice that most of the factories that have remained open are not managed by Dominicans, but rather by foreigners who know how to run sewing production. What we don't have is the necessary desire to make the best product possible, there is no pride in our work.
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From: United States
The D.R. is the best at the this type of work period.... The problem is one of wages -- of fair wages. The decline in the free-zone was due to the free trade agreements, still with it or without it investors will had left the D.R. for cheaper markets and exploitations. D.R. workers after two decades of Free-Zone became experts in the area of sewing as well as other areas and cause of this they also became more concious as to the quality of their work and the quantity of their productions. Still underpay but demanding higher wages and a higher minimum salary. On the levels of managements the salary was much higher as well as the people that handle the office work for say such factories. I know of this cause I've worked in the San Pedro De Macoris Free Zone in the area of management. As far as skills is concerned D.R. Has the best and in the middle 80's to early 90's it was considered the no. 1 placed for this kind of business. Now is Tourism.
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From: United States
hectorvargas, have you worked in the zona francas in other countries? i mean, in order to assert that the DR has the best workers in that area of industry, first you must have a benchmark against which you measure the work here. when you say that the DR is the best..period, whatever do you mean? they can sew better than mexicans? read the patterns better than nicaraguans? package the finished products better than guatemalans? what do you mean? if they were that great, why did so many guys close down and bolt?
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From: United States, Orange County, California
We need better sellers. I went to Las Vegas, NV Magic show and I did not see not a single Dominican vendor their. About getting out of the chair and start selling more aggressively.
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From: United States
ZonaDominicana, what exactly is the magic show of which you speak? can you tell us a little about it, please? is it a trade show? i plead ignorance.
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From: United States, Orange County, California
Magic Show is a trade show around the world. They do it in Las Vegas, NV almost every year. There are many other shows in the USA. I usually seen many Asia countries there and I've never seen the DR in any of those shows yet.
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From: United States
come to think of it, Zona, i have been to trade shows in places such as Jacob Javits, and i have never seen the DR represented either. maybe we have stagnated to the degree that we do not have anything interesting to offer.. i mean, why can't we come up with something simple like a fun line of sunglasses, for example? please, people, do not tell me that china can produce cheap sunglasses. not everyone wants the $9.95 sunglasses at the airport. Maui Jims cost upwards of 200 dollars per pair. with all the brilliant artists we have here, why can't we come up with a signature product worthy of a trade show? you know why? because we live in a land of starving artists, whose leaders would rather give the money to "botellas " rather than spend it promoting the talent we have in abundance. i have seen some dominican art which makes me shudder in amazement. sadly, it will die in obscurity.
