The country's economy shows a year-on-year expansion of 5.4%.
SANTO DOMINGO – The construction sector experienced a rebound during March, with a year-on-year increase of 14.5%, according to a report released yesterday by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic. However, when presenting the data for the January-March quarter, the figure remains negative at -1.2%.
The increase, the agency said, explains approximately 35% of the year-on-year expansion of the IMAE for that period, after having registered negative year-on-year variations in the last four months, states the agency's press release, which reports that as of March 2025, the country's economy shows a year-on-year expansion of 5.4%, a rate notably higher than the year-on-year growth of 1.3% registered in the same month of 2024.
The construction sector fell to -7-7 during the first two months of the year.
The Central Bank maintains that this performance of the sector in March 2025 is based on the evolution of local sales volumes of the main inputs used in infrastructure development, primarily cement and reinforcing bars, compared to March 2024. "As external factors of uncertainty dissipate, investment schedules for private sector projects would be reactivated," it explained.
Analyzing the breakdown by economic activity for March 2025, the sectors that showed the highest growth rates in their real value added were: construction (14.5%), free zone manufacturing (11.3%), financial intermediation (11.3%), commerce (8.9%), transportation and storage (8.7%), and agriculture (5.2%).
Regarding the performance of the industrial sector, free zone manufacturing registered a year-on-year increase of 11.3% in March 2025, with external demand for goods produced under this regime influencing this performance. In this regard, exports were 12.9% higher in the aforementioned month, totaling US$771.0 million, and accumulating US$1,985.0 million during the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, local manufacturing showed year-on-year growth of 1.7%, primarily driven by strong performance in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and common metals.
Financial intermediation activity showed a significant year-on-year increase of 11.3%, driven by a 12.3% expansion of credit to the private sector in both local and foreign currency, equivalent to an additional RD$257,254.6 million compared to March 2024.
Regarding commerce, the activity registered an 8.9% increase in real value added compared to March 2024, supported by increased production of goods sold in retail establishments. Similarly, imports in real terms registered a year-on-year increase of 12.9% in the past month.
The value added of the hotel, bar, and restaurant sector registered a variation of -0.5% in March, partly explained by seasonal factors. This is because the Easter holiday fell in March in 2024 and in April in 2025, resulting in an unfavorable base of comparison for the third month of this year.
The sector's results were also impacted by the lower arrival of non-resident foreigners by air during March, a trend that has been slowing since mid-2024, primarily due to the reduction in the influx of American and Canadian tourists, given the adverse international environment of uncertainty.
“However, it is important to highlight that the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) has been proactive in mitigating this trend with active and targeted promotion, which has allowed other source countries, such as Argentina and others in South America, to partially compensate for the decline in North American travelers. Likewise, the substantial increase in cruise ship passengers is noteworthy, contributing to a total of 1,144,680 visitors in March, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.0%, and exceeding 3.3 million in the first quarter of 2025.”
In the agricultural sector, a year-on-year growth of 5.2% was observed in March of this year, with notable increases in the production of staple foods such as avocados, rice, plantains, chicken, and eggs, among others. In this regard, the technical and financial support provided by the Government through the Ministry of Agriculture to agricultural producers nationwide has been a significant contributor.
The Central Bank pointed out that the performance in March contributed to the economy's cumulative growth of 2.7% in the first quarter, an improvement over the average growth of 1.5% seen in the first two months of the year. As demonstrated previously, the Dominican economy exhibits great resilience and has been able to recover quickly from periods of slowdown once a climate of certainty returns and expectations stabilize—conditions necessary for sustained economic growth.
