Free zones

[NewsWhore]

In an interview with Hoy, Fernando Capellan, president of the largest Dominican free zone conglomerate, Grupo M, highlights the fact that the main obstacles to the wellbeing of Dominican apparel companies come from within. He says that the Chinese effect on Dominican exports is already past us, and that any competitiveness problems are internal. He mentions an overvalued peso, lack of vision from the authorities, and a government that does not believe in the sector. He says that the solutions to simple problems, such as the remodeling of the Puerto Plata and Manzanillo ports so that exporters do not have to ship to Santo Domingo, are still far away. He also said that delays in implementing DR-CAFTA have impeded them from using the Short Supply List, which would allow them to import material from third countries, such as Mexican material that is more competitive than material from the US. He said that the labor liabilities are a major problem.
Fernando Capellan said that Grupo M employs 11,429 employees, including 1,200 in their plant in Haiti. Capellan feels that the recently passed Hope Act will be beneficial for the DR and Haiti.
He mentioned that DR now provides full service from apparel design to packaging for clients such as Gap, Liz Claiborne, Old Navy, Donna Karan New York (DKNY), Levi's, Wal-Mart, Dillard's, Dockers, Carhartt, Hanes, Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer, Calvin Klein, Gildan, Perry Ellis International, American Eagle Outfitters, Ralph Lauren and VF Corporation.

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