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Economy

Planning Board: Exports up 10.2% in first 8 months of Fiscal ’11

Planning Board President Rubén Flores Marzán

Puerto Rico’s exports during the first eight months of fiscal 2011 increased by 10.2 percent to more than $50 billion, from the $45.4 billion on record for fiscal 2010, according to the latest figures released by the Puerto Rico Planning Board.

The value of imported goods recorded for March 2011 was $3.9 billion, representing an increase of $432.6 million or 12.2 percent, when compared to the same month last year. This is attributed to an increase of $107 million or 10.2 percent, in shipments of chemicals.

The numbers show an increase of $3.6 billion, or 16.3 percent, of U.S.-bound chemicals. Meanwhile, there was also a jump of $3.3 billion, or 9.8 percent, of total exports to the U.S., foreign countries and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and an increase of $3.7 billion, or 8.5 percent growth, for the entire manufacturing sector.

Pharmaceuticals accounted for 66.5 percent of the manufacturing sector’s growth on record for the period between July 2010 and March 2011.

Upon unveiling the lastest figures, Planning Board President Rubén Flores Marzán stressed on “the need to promote our foreign goods trade, especially in the export sector, since it is an essential tool to maintain the island’s competitiveness.”

Puerto Rico’s foreign trade statistics include all the transactions of goods between Puerto Rico and the United States, foreign countries and the USVI.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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