Some 476 firms operated in free zones in 1994 providing employment for over 176,311 people. Major industries are apparel, footwear, electronics, sporting goods, pharmaceuticals, furniture, data entry and other service operations. Outside of free zones, products manufactured for export are processed foodstuffs, canned and processed fruits and vegetables and cocoa butter. Major non-food exports are wearing apparel, wood furniture and dry cell batteries. Other crops are rice, corn, potatoes, tubers, beans, spices, peanuts, cashews and almonds, coconuts, plantains and citrus fruits.
Cattle is raised for both export and local consumption.
The country has exploitable deposits of gold, silver, ferronickel, bauxite, copper, marble, salt and gypsum. The country is believed to have commercially exploitable deposits of oil. The Dominican Republic is also a signatory of the the Lome Convention which allows for duty free access of most Dominican products into the European Union. The banking system is governed by the country's Central Bank, which is controlled by the Monetary Board and supervised by the Superintendent of Banks. The Central Bank regulates the country's credit, money supply and foreign exchange rate.