Imports Exports Total
1905 $ 2,736,828 $ 6,896,098 $ 9,632,926 1906 4,065,437 6,536,378 10,601,915 1907 4,948,961 7,628,356 12,577,317 1908 4,767,775 9,396,487 14,164,262 1909 4,425,913 8,113,690 12,539,603 1910 6,257,691 10,849,623 17,107,314 1911 6,949,662 10,995,546 17,945,208 1913 8,217,898 12,385,248 20,603,146 1913 9,272,278 10,469,947 19,742,225 1914 6,729,007 10,588,787 17,317,794 1915 9,118,514 15,209,061 24,327,575 1916 11,664,430 21,527,873 33,192,303
The increase in 1916 over 1915 was almost as much as the entire trade of the country in 1905. The temporary setback of 1909 was caused by the partial failure of the cacao crop and the paralyzation of commerce in anticipation of lower tariff rates. That of 1914 was due to the European war and a domestic revolution. Santo Domingo has, however, repeatedly presented the anomalous spectacle of showing enormous trade figures in the midst of warfare, as for example, in 1912. The advance in commerce has been especially marked since the presence of the American troops assured peaceful conditions.
Not a year has passed since 1904 without a large balance of trade in favor of Santo Domingo. While the greater part of this is represented by huge sugar profits which have gone to foreign investors, a considerable portion remained in the country. The great increase in wealth since 1904 is apparent to anyone who knew the country at that time.
The imports cover the wide range to be expected in a nonmanufacturing, agricultural country in the tropics. The principal imports in 1916 were:
Cotton goods $1,721,534
Iron and steel manufactures, including sugar machinery 1,562,367
Rice 1,080,068
Wheat flour 621,900
Provisions, meat and dairy products 530,195
Oils 545,284
Bagging and other manufactures of vegetable fiber 508,644
Vehicles and boats 408,832
Manufactures of leather 385,518
Wood and manufactures of wood 317,421
Codfish and other preserved fish and fish products 309,204
Chemicals, drugs and dyes 293,072
Soap, and ingredients for the manufacture of soap 233,991
Paper and manufactures of paper 171,706
Beer 168,901
Agricultural implements 121,830
The United States furnished practically all the flour and other breadstuffs, oils, lumber, agricultural implements and leather articles and most of the cotton goods, hardware, machinery, fish, meat and dairy products. Before the European war all the rice was bought in Germany, as well as a considerable portion of the fish, beer, meat and dairy products. At present the rice is brought from the United States and England. The other imports from England are almost entirely cotton goods and bagging, with some iron and steel manufactures.
In the chapter on the flora of the country, statistics are given with reference to the exports of the country, which are, as there pointed out, principally: sugar, cacao, tobacco, coffee, bananas, beeswax and honey, hides, cotton, hardwoods and dyewoods.
Owing to its geographical position the United States naturally has the greater part of Dominican trade, but since the European war set the commerce of the world awry that proportion has grown until in 1916 the imports from the United States, including Porto Rico, were 90.4 per cent of the total and the exports to the United States and Porto Rico were 82.8 per cent of the total, though the latter figure varies somewhat from final destination, as much of the sugar and cacao is shipped subject to order. Before the European war something more than one-half of the trade of Santo Domingo was with the United States, one-fifth with Germany, and the remainder with France, England and other countries. The countries of origin of imports and destination of exports of the Dominican Republic in the year 1916, as compared with the list for 1913, the last preceding normal year, are here shown: