[DR1] AIRD worried about energy costs

[NewsWhore]

With the imminent arrival of the DR-CAFTA agreement start-up, the Industrial Association of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) is voicing concern about the very high cost of energy in the face of stiff competition from the trading partners within DR-CAFTA. Dominican industry has been forced to resort to other mechanisms in order to maintain some sort of competitive stance within the region. One of the mechanisms is the use of clusters, to reduce manufacturing costs. To this end the AIRD has obtained governmental approval that will allow industries to secure funding from multilateral organizations. According to AIRD president Yandra Portela, the cost of electricity in the DR averages 22 cents a kilowatt/hour. In countries such as Brazil or the United States the cost is between three and five cents, and in China it is just seven cents per kilowatt-hour.

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