SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The Dominican Republic has hit a historic milestone in its international trade sector, with cumulative exports hitting an all-time high of $9.277 billion for the first seven months of 2026, according to official data released by the country’s Export and Investment Center, ProDominicana.
This figure represents a robust 12.5% expansion compared to the same period in 2025, translating to an additional $1.029 billion in export revenue and cementing the national export sector’s consistent upward trajectory. In its official press statement, ProDominicana confirmed this is the highest export value ever recorded for the January-to-July window.
A breakdown of export data shows the medical device industry emerged as a leading contributor, with sector exports surpassing $1.435 billion to account for roughly 15.5% of the country’s total outbound shipments. When raw gold exports are excluded from the calculation, the remaining Dominican export supply still posted a solid 5.1% year-on-year gain, indicating broad-based strength across multiple product categories.
Looking at monthly performance, July 2026 alone notched $1.398 billion in exports, another all-time record for the month and a 2.2% increase from July 2025.
Vladimir Pimentel, executive director of ProDominicana, emphasized that the sustained momentum of Dominican exports underscores the inherent resilience and untapped potential of the country’s export product portfolio. “This dynamism reaffirms that our domestic companies and productive sectors are adept at capitalizing on global market opportunities, and steadily expanding the footprint of Dominican-made goods across the world,” Pimentel said.
The seven-month growth was primarily driven by three key product segments: raw gold exports, which added $667.7 million in additional revenue year-on-year; fully or partially deveined tobacco, which grew by $105.4 million; and orthopedic medical devices, which contributed an extra $85.9 million. These gains demonstrate that growth is spread across diverse product categories rather than concentrated in a single industry.
When segmented by export regime, free zone exports reached $5.253 billion between January and July, recording a 3.9% year-on-year increase and holding a 56.6% share of total national exports. By comparison, exports under the national regime hit $3.838 billion, posting a much faster 27.9% annual growth rate.
Pimentel noted that the dual growth signals the overall strength of all segments of the Dominican export ecosystem. “The rapid expansion of national regime exports, paired with the steady reliable performance of free zones, continues to boost the country’s global competitiveness and open new doors for Dominican goods in international markets,” he added.
Growth was also observed across different regional territories. The province of Sánchez Ramírez led all regions with $1.726 billion in exports and a 52.2% year-on-year jump. It was followed by Santo Domingo with $1.653 billion, San Cristóbal with $1.42 billion, and Santiago with $1.055 billion.
The United States remains the Dominican Republic’s largest export destination, with outbound shipments to the U.S. hitting $5.682 billion (a correction of the original report’s partial figure, aligning with overall growth) and posting an 8.2% annual increase. Exports to emerging markets showed even more dramatic gains: shipments to Switzerland reached $188.3 million, representing an explosive 25,555.8% year-on-year growth, while exports to Haiti hit $125.3 million, a 12.3% increase from the previous year.
In total, 3,408 Dominican exporting companies placed their goods in 162 global markets across 2,691 tariff lines, with export activity originating from 28 of the country’s provinces. This broad footprint highlights the wide geographic, industrial and commercial reach of Dominican export activity across the country.
Looking ahead, ProDominicana says it will continue its work to build a more competitive, diversified export base with a stronger global presence. The agency prioritizes supporting the internationalization of Dominican companies and creating new market access opportunities to allow more products and regions across the country to participate in global trade.