A total of 22 companies from the Dominican Republic participated in the logistics show SIL Barcelona, where the Latin American country has sought to establish itself as a benchmark in the sector worldwide, for its strategic value and its boost to this economic activity.
This was explained in statements to EFE by the deputy director general of Customs of the Dominican Republic, Johannes Kelner, who stressed that the sector is “increasingly important” in his country, which “has grown in volume, in double digits”, since the nation now has “more infrastructure”.
Kelner said that the country has “excellent air connectivity in the region” as a result of its high tourism, and that its geographical location is strategic, with a good “proximity and fluidity of cargo” with the United States by sea, “which is the largest consumer”.
He also underlined the good connectivity by sea with Europe, since the Dominican Republic has “the shortest maritime transit in Latin America” -a region with which it also has a fluid circulation- to reach the Old Continent, only 9 days of journey.
The deputy director of customs of the country has assured that the objective in the SIL, which has just closed its last edition with more than 15,000 participants, is “to achieve that the Dominican Republic is recognized”, that the economic sector sees the advantages it has at a logistical level.
“We have been recognized for tourism, but this is also the time for this new part of the economy,” such as logistics and manufacturing, he said.
On this last issue, he has detailed that manufacturing companies in the free zones, especially multinationals but also some local companies, “have decided to outsource their services”.
In addition, he detailed that some “have also decided to add value and set up their distribution centers so that the goods, when manufactured, can be joined with other goods from another origin, exported and delivered to their final destination, to their final customer”.
Kelner said that the Dominican Republic has consolidated its position as a logistics hub thanks to public-private collaboration, and detailed the favorable legal framework for the sector with the new customs law, approved in 2021, as well as the stability of the country in comparison with other countries in the region.
The free zone sector in the Latin American country had 192,300 jobs last year and, in addition, a figure of exports for a total value of US$7.767 billion between January and December 2022.
In terms of connectivity, the Dominican Republic has 8 international airports, 40 airlines operating in the country, 320 daily flights, 150 connections to cities around the world and 9,600 international flights per month.
Source: Eldinero.com
