The Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo) highlighted the dynamism that this sector continues to record, noting that national exports generated more than US$2.308 billion in foreign currency during the January-April 2026 period, which represents a growth of 48% compared to the same period of the previous year.
The data was shared by the president of Adoexpo, Karel Castillo, during the institution’s traditional business lunch, which featured as a guest the Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM), Yayo Sanz Lovatón, who presented the lecture “Dominican Republic: Export Powerhouse”.
Castillo highlighted that the performance observed in the first months of 2026 adds to the results achieved during 2025, a year in which national exports generated more than US$5.738 billion in foreign currency, for a growth of 33% compared to the previous year.
He explained that this behavior was driven by the growth of mining exports, which increased by 101% in the first four months of the year, while non-mining exports recorded an expansion of 15.6%, reflecting the strength and diversity of the national export supply.
To support the sector’s social role, Castillo presented preliminary findings of a study being developed by Adoexpo together with the consulting firm Despradel & Asociados which, according to that research, this sector currently sustains 144 thousand direct and indirect jobs, which represents nearly 6% of the country’s total formal employment.
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“For every direct job in an exporting company, 1.4 additional jobs are generated throughout the supply chain, impacting transportation, logistics, and suppliers of inputs and services,” he said. This wage bill injects more than RD$47 billion annually into the Dominican household economy, according to the study’s results.
In terms of markets, he cited figures from the General Directorate of Customs (DGA), which indicate that during 2025 the nation exported more than one million dollars to 69 countries and more than US$10 million to 33 destinations, distributed across 223 different products. In the first four months of 2026, the trend remains firm with sales exceeding one million dollars to 59 international destinations.
A country with strengths and room to grow
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Castillo pointed out that the Dominican Republic has favorable conditions to accelerate its export growth. He highlighted that the country currently ranks second in maritime connectivity in the region, only behind Panama, and third in economic complexity in Central America and the Caribbean, surpassed only by Mexico and Costa Rica.
However, he indicated that goods exports represent around 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a figure lower than the regional average of approximately 20%, which highlights the broad existing growth potential.
To reach and surpass the historical ceiling of 14% of GDP recorded in 2011, Adoexpo presented to Minister Sanz Lovatón a public-private agenda based on three strategic pillars.
The first is the intelligent diversification of markets, because while the United States remains the main trading partner, concentrating 47% of total trade, Adoexpo raised the need to expand presence towards Europe, Asia, and the rest of Latin America.
The second pillar is the optimization of export logistics, through digitalization, training, simplification of processes, and improvement of monitoring and traceability, areas where the country ranks below the regional average according to the Logistics Performance Index.
The third pillar is the active integration of MSMEs into foreign trade, through financing, certifications, and technical support, with the goal of decentralizing and expanding the national export base.
The event featured a space for business testimonials, an initiative that seeks to highlight the stories behind every export, and which on this occasion featured the participation of Miguel Antonio Roig, treasurer of the board of directors of Roig Agro-Cacao, and member of the board of directors of Adoexpo, a Dominican company founded in 1967 that for nearly six decades has contributed to the positioning of local cocoa in international markets.
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Karel Castillo valued Minister Sanz Lovatón’s openness to dialogue and recognized his track record in favor of trade facilitation and institutional modernization. He reaffirmed that Adoexpo is ready to work hand in hand with the MICM to consolidate the Dominican Republic as a regional exporting power.
“Exporting is not simply an economic activity. It is a development strategy, a tool to generate prosperity, and the way in which Dominican talent and productive capacity are projected to the world,” he stated.
