In the capital city of Santo Domingo, ProDominicana, the Dominican Republic’s trade promotion agency, marked a major milestone with the fifth iteration of its signature “Tobacco and Rum Night” — a high-profile networking and showcase event designed to lift up two of the Caribbean nation’s most culturally iconic and economically vital export goods. Against a backdrop of growing global demand for artisanal Dominican goods, the gathering assembled a cross-section of key stakeholders: top business executives, leading export operators, foreign diplomatic representatives, and core industry partners from around the world. Attendees gathered not only to celebrate the legacy of these two sectors but also to underscore their outsized role in shaping the Dominican Republic’s national identity and global brand recognition.
Opening the event, Biviana Riveiro, Executive Director of ProDominicana, delivered opening remarks reaffirming the agency’s ongoing commitment to traditional high-value export sectors. Riveiro stressed that sustained investment and targeted promotion of tobacco and rum remain core priorities for the nation, as these industries help solidify the Dominican Republic’s competitive standing in crowded global consumer markets.
Official trade data released at the celebration revealed strong, consistent growth across both sectors in recent months. For the tobacco industry, total exports of tobacco and related products hit approximately $1.36 billion USD in 2025, with top international markets including the United States, Germany, China, Puerto Rico, and Spain. That positive momentum carried into the new year: between January and March 2026, tobacco exports topped $364 million USD, marking a robust 19% year-over-year increase compared to the first quarter of 2025.
The Dominican rum sector posted even stronger growth figures, continuing its steady expansion into new and existing international markets. In 2025, total rum exports crossed the $116 million USD threshold, with primary buyers concentrated in Spain, the United States, Cyprus, Haiti, the Netherlands, and Germany. In the opening months of 2026, the sector extended that upward trajectory: exports reached more than $29 million USD, representing a 26% year-over-year growth rate when compared to the same period in 2025.